To help assist the state’s growing Hispanic population, Governor Scott Walker is asking the Mexican government to consider opening a consulate office in Wisconsin.
Walker made the request in letters sent to Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Ambassador Eduardo Medina-Mora. The governor says an office is needed in the Badger State because “The Mexican Consulate office serving Wisconsin is located in Chicago, and it also serves Illinois and Indiana. While a mobile consulate is also available, there is a backlog, and Mexican nationals seeking documents in Wisconsin must wait two months or more.”
Census Bureau figures show that Hispanic residents made up 6.2 percent of Wisconsin’s population in 2012, while the Latino population of Milwaukee County has grown to 13.9 percent.
Walker’s office also notes that Mexico is the state’s second largest export market and Hispanic-owned businesses in Wisconsin are growing at a rate of 7.6 percent. The governor argues that a consulate office being located in the state would help continue that pattern of economic growth.