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Mexican consulate finds temporary quarters at state agency Thursday, Oct 19, 2006 By James Jefferson Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Mexican consulate officials are preparing to leave their $1-a-year space in a state office building for other temporary quarters before occupying the consulate's permanent building in a former ice cream parlor, which may be christened by Mexican President Vicente Fox. "We're preparing for a possible grand opening next month, really contingent upon President Fox's schedule. He's indicated that he'd like to come to Arkansas for the opening of the final consulate under his administration," said Robert Trevino, a former aide to Gov. Mike Hukabee, who now heads Arkansas Rehabilitative Services, where Mexican consular officials occupy space and use a phone. The consulate's permanent home will be in a former Baskin Robbins store across from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock campus. However, the move, expected by the end of the month, hasn't soothed the ruffled feathers of some lawmakers angry that Huckabee's administration made the deal to house the consular officials in a state agency in the first place without notifying the Legislature. Rep. Bob Mathis, D-Hot Springs, who objected that lawmakers were informed only after the deal was struck in July, said he considered requesting an attorney general's opinion on the legality of it, but abandoned the idea because of time constraints. "The whole thing stinks, but there's really not a whole lot we can do about it," Mathis said. "By the time they turn around with it, they'll probably be gone." He said Trevino stepped out of line to help the Mexican consulate because Trevino previously headed the Arkansas chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens - LULAC - and was on the governor's payroll handling dealings with the Hispanic community. In a statement, Huckabee said the benefits from having a Mexican consulate in Arkansas would go far beyond any state assistance in helping get the office off the ground. The consulate will provide Arkansas businesses with access to Mexico and opportunities to expand their markets, and will help further ensure that immigrants from Mexico are legal and better able to secure legal documentation, the governor said. "At the same time, the office will open up opportunities for Mexican investors to invest money with Arkansas partners, which will help create jobs in the state," Huckabee said. Trevino said the deal resulted from a request from Mexican officials, which Huckabee gladly agreed to, to provide assistance to advance personnel in town to prepare for the opening of the consulate. "He understood the challenges they faced and that we wanted to be a friendly host. Nothing specific was asked for but he said he (would help)," Trevino said. "We had some office space available in my agency ... that we weren't going to use until November. We consulted with Arkansas Building Authority. They advised us we would need to have a legal agreement, a facility use agreement with consulate officials." The agreement, which called for a $1 annual payment, was signed July 7. Mexican consulate official Jorge Campos referred questions Wednesday to Andres Chao, the consul for Arkansas, who did not return calls seeking comment. |
