Guatemalan consulate planned for Arizona
The Associated Press
PHOENIX - The Guatemalan government plans to open a consulate this year in Arizona, which has now become the main entry point for Guatemalans coming to this country illegally.
The consulate in Phoenix will be one of three the Guatemalan government is opening. The others will be in Atlanta and Providence, R.I.
"The major reason for opening a consulate is to help the people who are crossing the border, who are getting hurt or die crossing the border," said Patricia Meigham, a vice consul of Guatemala based in Los Angeles.
The majority of illegal crossers still come from Mexico, but an increasing number are coming from Central America because of a lack of jobs, and continued economic and political instability following years of civil strife in several countries, including Guatemala. They cross Mexico's southern border, then make their way to the United States.
As it is for other illegal immigrants, who die in large numbers in the Arizona desert each year, the trip for the Guatemalan border crossers can deadly.
Last year, 25 undocumented immigrants from that country died in the Arizona desert after crossing the border into the United States illegally, Meigham said. The year before, five undocumented immigrants from Guatemala died in Arizona, she said.
Every month, Meigham interviews about 300 Guatemalans who are being held at a federal detention center in Florence awaiting deportation after being caught by Border Patrol agents.
The 2000 census counted 7,150 Guatemalans living in Arizona. But Meigham puts the number at about 28,000, noting that most go uncounted because the majority are undocumented.
Members of the Arizona Guatemalan Committee estimate there are as many as 35,000 to 40,000 Guatemalans in Arizona. The group is made up of local Guatemalans who lobbied the Guatemalan government to open a consulate in Phoenix.
"When I came to Phoenix, I didn't know anyone from Guatemala. I thought I was the only one," said Yuvixa Morazan Koren, 39, the group's president, one of several Guatemalans who have established successful businesses in Arizona.
The Associated Press
PHOENIX - The Guatemalan government plans to open a consulate this year in Arizona, which has now become the main entry point for Guatemalans coming to this country illegally.
The consulate in Phoenix will be one of three the Guatemalan government is opening. The others will be in Atlanta and Providence, R.I.
"The major reason for opening a consulate is to help the people who are crossing the border, who are getting hurt or die crossing the border," said Patricia Meigham, a vice consul of Guatemala based in Los Angeles.
The majority of illegal crossers still come from Mexico, but an increasing number are coming from Central America because of a lack of jobs, and continued economic and political instability following years of civil strife in several countries, including Guatemala. They cross Mexico's southern border, then make their way to the United States.
As it is for other illegal immigrants, who die in large numbers in the Arizona desert each year, the trip for the Guatemalan border crossers can deadly.
Last year, 25 undocumented immigrants from that country died in the Arizona desert after crossing the border into the United States illegally, Meigham said. The year before, five undocumented immigrants from Guatemala died in Arizona, she said.
Every month, Meigham interviews about 300 Guatemalans who are being held at a federal detention center in Florence awaiting deportation after being caught by Border Patrol agents.
The 2000 census counted 7,150 Guatemalans living in Arizona. But Meigham puts the number at about 28,000, noting that most go uncounted because the majority are undocumented.
Members of the Arizona Guatemalan Committee estimate there are as many as 35,000 to 40,000 Guatemalans in Arizona. The group is made up of local Guatemalans who lobbied the Guatemalan government to open a consulate in Phoenix.
"When I came to Phoenix, I didn't know anyone from Guatemala. I thought I was the only one," said Yuvixa Morazan Koren, 39, the group's president, one of several Guatemalans who have established successful businesses in Arizona.