GOLDSBORO, N.C. — It’s no simple operation for Emerson Araujo-Mancilla and the consulate of Mexico to set up all their equipment.

Cameras, fingerprint scanners, printers are all necessary steps, but ones he says are needed.

What You Need To Know

  • The consulate helps Mexican citizens get IDs, birth certificates and passports

  • Their Consulate on Wheels program serves cities in North and South Carolina

  • It will be at Wayne Community College taking appointments until Friday

“It’s basically what we need to get all of the biometrics, all the information about our community," Araujo-Mancilla said. "Like their hands, and their eyes, and how they look like.”

The information collected at Wayne Community College will help the consulate provide Mexican citizens with essential Mexican documents. 

Many can walk out with those documents after their appointment.

“You can obtain your passport, your matricula ID and your voting license,” Araujo-Mancilla said.

Instead of sending people to the consulate in Raleigh, they’ve taken their services on the road, bringing their pop-up identification events to communities in North and South Carolina. 

By traveling to these places, they hope to cut out the barriers that stop people from obtaining important paperwork.

“They probably can’t drive too many miles, they can’t do too many things because they are limited because of any reasons," Araujo-Mancilla said. "We do this in order to help them.”“They probably can’t drive too many miles, they can’t do too many things because they are limited because of any reasons," Araujo-Mancilla said. "We do this in order to help them.”

The support for the Consulate on Wheels program has grown, and for people like Lucina Ruiz, a college student at WCC, it is important. Ruiz is getting her passport and consular ID, documents she says are essential. 

“The passport is important for banks, for schools, for everything. For everything, it’s important,” Ruiz said. 

With the future of DACA in the hands of the courts, Ruiz says programs like this give many people hope of finding permanent citizenship in the U.S. 

“A program like this makes me feel like a part of the community, and safer and easier," Ruiz said. "Having my passport and ID gives me peace of mind.”

The consulate will be at Wayne Community College from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. until Friday. You can make an appointment on the Consulate of Mexico website, as well as find dates for future documentation events.