WASHINGTON — Mexican consulates in Oklahoma City and New Jersey are in the works, according to Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The new consulates are being created to increase the capacity of the Mexican government’s consular network and deal with recent demographic changes in the Mexican community in the U.S.

Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said on Twitter that the city has over 106,000 residents of Mexican descent and that for years, community and elected leaders have pushed for a consulate.

“Today we are a big step closer!” the mayor said.

Holt, in response to a question about whether the new consulate would be on Capitol Hill, said: “Probably premature to talk location when the intent to open in OKC was just announced hours ago, but that would be great!”

The Mexican consulate in Oklahoma City will become the second foreign consulate located in the state’s capital behind the Guatemalan consulate located at 5909 NW Expressway.

Mexican Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said the government aims to reduce delays in consular procedures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and increase the consular network’s capacity to deal with recent demographic changes in the Mexican community in the U.S.

“The reassignment and adjustment of jurisdictions have the objective of improving service, attention, proximity, the possibility of solving problems and the protection and defense of the migrants in the United States,” said Ebrard at a news conference on Monday in Mexico City.

Ebrard said the Mexican community in the U.S. plays an important role in the growth of the American economy and armed forces.

Oklahoma City residents of Mexican descent have long sought the opening of the consulate most recently by a petition drive. Despite those efforts the consulates in Kansas City and Little Rock, Ark. currently serve the approximately half million Oklahomans the Mexican government estimates need consular services..

The Mexican Government still needs to negotiate with the U.S. Department of State to obtain the necessary authorizations to open the new consulates it hopes to open in 2022.

The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs currently operates more than 50 consulates in the U.S. and Canada.

Kevin Palomino, a journalism major at the University of Oklahoma and Mexican DACA recipient, said a consulate in Oklahoma will permit business owners to avoid closing to travel to Kansas or Arkansas for services.

Palomino said Hispanics make up 11% of the state’s population, and the announcement of the Mexican consulate is a huge reward for all the Hispanic community does for the state.

“I think the consulate it’s long overdue. The Mexican community in Oklahoma has advocated for a consulate for years,” said Palomino.

“I’ve had to make trips to Little Rock, Kansas, and Dallas since I was a child. I had to miss school, and my parents had to miss work, all to renew my passport when I could’ve done it by driving down the street,” he added.

Gaylord News is a Washington-based reporting project of the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. For more stories from Gaylord News visit GaylordNews.net.