By Carola Rico
Caminamos Juntos, A.C. (We Walk Together) invites the entire community to help children who come from the United States establish their official identification in Mexico so they can access education and public health. Caminamos Juntos reports that more than half a million U.S. citizen children and adolescents are living in Mexico, and a large number are here because their parents faced deportation proceedings or decided to return from the U.S.
When they arrive here, they often face various difficulties, such as adjusting to a new community, learning a new language, and navigating a new culture. However, these little ones should be able to have access to education and health.
According to information from the association, upon arrival in Mexico, many of these American children cannot access essential services or exercise their rights since they find themselves in a legal limbo during which years may have passed. Without adequate advice, the process of obtaining identity documents under these circumstances can be complicated.
A salient point is that in the last decade, the voluntary and forced return of people from the U.S. to Mexico has increased significantly. Caminamos Juntos explained to Atención why it is so difficult for the children of deported and returnees to obtain documentation in Mexico.
Generally, the main barrier is the processing in the U.S. of documents that can be used in Mexico. Frequently, families must request new identity and school documents, certify them before a notary’s office, and «apostille» them, a process that allows said document to be legally recognized outside the U.S. This is a procedure that, in addition to being challenging to manage from Mexico, can be quite a burden for families.
Once the documents are processed in the U.S., they must be translated by an official translator in Mexico, the cost of which can be quite onerous and even unaffordable for many families. In the worst-case scenario, if there are any discrepancies in the details of these documents, the process would be rejected and must start over until it is corrected. For example, if an infant’s U.S. birth certificate does not have the full name of the Mexican mother or father, as it appears on their Mexican birth certificate, the infant will not be able to obtain Mexican identity documents.
While families try to navigate this process, children and adolescents do not have the opportunity to attend school—a situation that can sometimes last for years. In addition, they cannot participate in the country’s public health insurance program, so they are denied medical care and psychological support in public health services. This situation puts them in such a state of vulnerability that it is almost as if they did not exist in Mexico.
Caminamos Juntos supports these families at every step of this often intimidating, expensive, and overwhelming process, and this is just one of the organization’s programs aimed at providing support to families who recently arrived from the U.S.
They also offer services that meet basic needs such as groceries and rent. They connect deported and returnee families with educational opportunities, including scholarships to finish high school. In addition, they offer psychological care and help families integrate into their new community in San Miguel de Allende.
The vision of Caminamos Juntos is to help create a community where all people are empowered to live their lives with dignity. The first step toward dignity is identity. The organization has learned that without identity documents, many other services are inaccessible. It is through the organization’s Identity Document program that it intends to raise sufficient funds to obtain Mexican identity documents for 10 children and adolescents who are currently excluded from full participation in Mexican society.
Your contribution will allow a child or adolescent to have access to education, health, and decent living in Mexico. Join this campaign today so that, through your support, they can continue “walking together.” If you can’t donate now, please help by sharing this project on social media and with family and friends.For more information or to support this great cause, you can write to contact.cjsma@gmail.com or call 415 216 8673 and ask to speak with Nicole Rayas, operational director of Caminamos Juntos.
