A new Mexican consulate opens Monday in Minnesota.
The consulate on St. Paul's East Side will serve Mexican immigrants living in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and northern Wisconsin.
The consulate will issue passports and an identification card called a "matricula consular," which can be used to open bank accounts, cash paychecks and obtain marriage licenses. It will also offer visas, as well as emergency services and educational and cultural programs.
Mexican citizens living in the Upper Midwest previously had to drive to Chicago or farther to obtain such documents. The Chicago office often sent a mobile consulate to the Twin Cities once a year, but it would stay only for a few days.
There are an estimated 140,000 Mexicans living in Minnesota.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
