Mexican officials seek consulate site in Las Vegas

By Timothy Pratt

Friday, Aug. 31, 2001 | 9:29 a.m.

Two officials from Mexico President Vicente Fox's administration were in town Wednesday to scout office sites for a consul.

Roberto Rodriguez, from the Department of Consular Affairs, and Miguel Guiterrez, who works with the secretary of foreign relations, looked at three potential sites.

Their visit confirms that plans for a Mexican consulate here are moving forward again. The Mexican government announced in May that budget cuts would make opening a consulate in Las Vegas impossible in the near future. Consuls are appointed by governments to aid and serve their citizens and business interests in foreign countries.

The consulate will open in 60 to 90 days, pending approval from Washington and the Mexican government. Two of the sites visited were downtown and one was on Bonanza Road and Maryland Parkway.

A consulate can cost from $350,000 to $500,000 a year, Rodriguez said. The Las Vegas consulate will serve the entire state, which has 285,764 people of Mexican descent, according to the 2000 Census. That represents about 72 percent of the state's total Hispanic population.

Currently, Mexicans in Nevada must use the services of consulates in Sacramento, San Bernardino, or Phoenix.

The Mexican officials were assisted by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., who visited members of the Fox administration in April to discuss opening a Mexican consulate here. Ensign and state Sen. Jon Porter, R-Henderson, also had the officials meet with members of the Hispanic community Friday morning to seek input on the decision to open a consulate.

When asked if current concerns about a nine-month economic slowdown in Mexico could lead to more migration to cities like Las Vegas, Guiterrez said he was optimistic about Fox's ability to create jobs and stimulate investment.

Rodriguez said U.S. investment in Mexico could help stem illegal immigration across the Mexico-United States border. This potential, he said, will be on the agenda during next week's meeting between President Fox and President Bush.