Mexican Consulate Helps Locate the Missing

Family togetherness is very important in the Mexican culture. Not being able to find their loved ones is therefore one of the most dreadful experiences for any Mexican. However, in the search for a better life, many Mexicans would risk their lives and family separation on dangerous journeys to America.

According to the U.S. Border Patrol, more than 500 people died crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in 2005 alone. But many scholars and media believe the number should be much higher as many have never been found.

These fatalities and separations have caused heavy tolls on many Mexican families as they need to find their missing loved ones. In many cases, most didn’t know where to begin. Recognizing this need, the Mexican Consulates and their Department of Protection of Mexican People throughout the U.S. are offering a free service to help individuals and families of Mexican descent finding their loved ones on both sides of the border.

La Oferta recently visited the Mexican Consulate in San Jose and interviewed Pedro Espinosa, Chief of Legal Matters and Protection, about his office’s service of help finding the missing.  

LO: How did the idea of locating people start and in what does it consist of?

P.E.: The Mexican Consulate has always had this service and through time we have greatly improved our techniques and system to help our people. Locating people is part of our work in the Department of Protection. But we also handle many legal activities from civil to administrative, labor, human rights, as well as migrant rights. The administrative section is where we help locating people, a free service exclusively for the Mexican community.

When a person comes to the Consulate because he does not know the whereabouts of his family member who has entered the U.S., the Consulate has certain tools that can help him. One way is to direct this person to the American authorities, and we help coordinate the inquiry with these organizations in the effort to locate the missing person. The other way is to contact the immigration authorities at the border, detention centers, and hospitals. We would check these institutions’ lists of people who were deported, lists of people who have passed away and were not claimed. We also check our Consulates’ websites which maintain records of people looking for their loved ones.

LO: What is the process of finding people, how long does it take?

P.E.: The most important part of the process is to get as much information about the missing person as possible like photos, personal documents, and when the person entered the country. We look into indicators such as if this missing person has been deported before, if he has a nickname or goes by an alias, where his family might be in the U.S., where someone might guess where he was headed to, his medical conditions, and more. Basically, the more information we have the better chance we get.

After that we send a petition to all the Mexican Consulates in the U.S. to help us with the search. We have several ways to send out this request. The first is a written petition in the mail; second is creating a virtual online record of all the information known about the missing person within the secured network among our Consulates called SIRIL. Through this system, we can consult and add information to the records that would be accessible to all officers.

LO: What is the next step after the missing person is found?

P.E.: We look forward to reuniting families.  Once the missing person is located, we would contact the family member who has instigated the search. But it is his or her right to make the follow up or not. In some cases the reunion may not be physical because the person found is in another state, or is going through a judicial process. We can help them contacting each other. Sometimes the results can be sad, as the missing person maybe found dead. When this happens we inform family members of the circumstances and how they could follow up.  In general, our final step is to help family members reunite.

LO: What is the message you send out to people who are scared to approach The Mexican Consulate because their immigration status?

P.E.: People shouldn’t have any fear. We are the Mexican Consulate. We are the government of Mexico, and we are here to help our citizens. Any information that they give us is strictly confidential and not shared with any U.S. authority. We are here to support our community.

For more information about Locating People, call the Mexican Consulate of San Jose at (408) 294-3414 or extensions 15, 120, 121, 122, 124, or 141.

Visit www.consulmexsj.com. 

Elian Cespedes is editor of La Oferta