Mexican Consulate Opens Its Doors In Oklahoma City

The Mexican Consulate in Oklahoma City will officially open Tuesday, after years of planning. 

Jose Borrego–Capitol Hill High School graduate–and his family immigrated from Durango, Mexico three years ago. He now lives in Oklahoma City with his mom, and, despite being a resident, there's still some challenges for Mexican immigrants including getting the necessary documentation to get jobs.

“I’m not like a part of this country like some of my friends that are born here,” Borrego said.

Borrego and his family said not having a consulate nearby has caused the adjustment process to take even longer.

“My friend just told me that he just last year had to travel to Arkansas just to get his Mexican ID,” Borrego said.

Governor Kevin Stitt said 12 percent of Oklahoma's population is Hispanic, most are Mexican Americans. This consulate will help around half a million people that live here in Oklahoma.

“I'm the governor for all 4 million Oklahomans. Hispanic values are Oklahoma values. They’re very entrepreneurial, very hard-working. That's the ethos of an Oklahoman just super hard-working,” Governor Stitt said.

This opening celebrates years of hard work.

Advocacy groups said they've been pushing for a consulate for a decade. News 9 traveled to Mexico with Governor Kevin Stitt in 2021 to talk with leaders about multiple issues, one being a future consulate.

Before this week, residents were forced to drive to Little Rock, Dallas or Albuquerque to get their legal documents.

“There's also a lot of potential to grow the economic, trade, cultural relations between Oklahoma and Mexico. We want to be a conduit for it,” Edurne Pineda, Head Consul of Mexico in Oklahoma City, said.

Now thousands of Mexican Americans have access to services like getting their U.S. citizenship or passport insurance.

“Without the passport sometime we go on bus sometime we go on the carts to Mexico,” Borrego said. 

This consulate is less than 10 minutes away from Jose's home, giving him a freedom he's never experienced before.

Boreggo was one of the first people to use services at the Mexican Consulate in Oklahoma City and plans on using his passport to visit his grandparents in Mexico.