Servicing the illegal immigrant "community".

In early August, the Mexican Consulate General in Chicago, working in collaboration with U.S. Bank and a private organization called Latino Link, announced it would hold "office hours" at a local mall in Appleton, Wisconsin, "so families can obtain documents and assistance with community issues," reported the August 8 Appleton Post-Crescent.

"People really can't afford to go to Chicago to get all the paperwork done," explained Latino Link's Analina Briones. Thus the Mexican government arranged for a "mobile consulate" to offer services to its citizens illegally residing in Wisconsin's Fox Cities area. "We've been giving out fliers and working with different churches," she added. "The word is getting around."

Consulate Spokesman Cesar Romero (no relation, presumably, to the late actor of the same name) told the Post-Crescent that "consular officials will spend most of the time issuing Mexican passports and the Matricula Consular, a photo identification card issued by the Mexican government that certifies the holder is a Mexican citizen." The Matricula cards are non-secure forms of identification issued by the Mexican government to both legal and illegal immigrants to the United States.

U.S. Bank representative Amanda Owen was on hand to "give presentations on America's banking system, to help newcomers in particular realize that the process is safe." She also helpfully explained to the "newcomers"--that is, once again, those residing in the U.S. illegally--that "most Wisconsin banks now accept the Matricula Consular as a form of identification when cardholders apply to open accounts."