By Allan Wall

Consulates are installations representing a government on the soil of another country. The diplomats of the consulate represent the interests of their country in a foreign land. Consulates have some legitimate functions. When I resided in Mexico, I occasionally traveled to a U.S. consulate in another city and the staff there were very helpful.

The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, an international treaty signed in 1963, spells out the stipulations for consulates and the rights and immunities of diplomatic personnel. Article 55 stipulates that “…[I]t is the duty of all persons enjoying such privileges and immunities [the diplomats] to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving State. They also have a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of the State.”

So according to Article 55, diplomats have certain privileges and immunities; but they are not to meddle in the internal affairs of the nation in which they are stationed.

In violation of this Convention, however, Mexican diplomats in the United States blatantly meddle in U.S. internal politics. They protect illegal aliens and promote illegal immigration. They campaign against U.S. legislation.

They promote dual citizenship, striving to win the loyalty of Mexican-Americans, even those born in the United States.

Mexico has 52 (!) Mexican consulates on U.S. soil. It’s the biggest consular network in the world. Meddling is official Mexican government policy.

In the 1990s, Mexico changed its nationality policy to permit dual citizenship, specifically so Mexicans could become U.S. citizens and vote in the interests of Mexico. According to Mexican law, any child born to a Mexican anywhere in the world is a potential Mexican citizen.

In 2016, Mexican diplomats actually helped Mexican immigrants in the U.S. to naturalize as American citizens so they could vote against Trump.

This is all totally in the open, and yet almost nobody in the U.S. government complains about it.

But this would never occur in the conservative red state of Oklahoma, with its conservative governor, now would it?

Until May of 2023, there was no Mexican consulate in Oklahoma, and the state was better off for it. But Governor Kevin Stitt and Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt campaigned to get a Mexican consulate installed in Oklahoma.

Supposedly it was a hardship for Mexicans in Oklahoma to go to another state to a consulate. But there were already Mexican consulates in five neighboring states: in Dallas, Little Rock, Kansas City, Denver and Albuquerque.

Mayor Holt crowed that “Establishing this Mexican consulate continues Oklahoma City’s emergence as a global city, and it is also a welcome amenity for our 100,000 metro OKC residents of Mexican descent.”

First off, why does Oklahoma City have to be “a global city”? Can’t it be an Oklahoma city?

As for the “100,000 metro OKC residents of Mexican descent,” if they are U.S. citizens why do they need a Mexican consulate?

Stitt, Holt and the Mexican government got their way. In May of 2023, the Mexican consulate in Oklahoma City was publicly dedicated with great fanfare.

Fast forward to April of 2024, when Oklahoma’s legislature passed House Bill 4156, which criminalized “impermissible occupation,” that is, being an illegal alien in Oklahoma. This was necessary because our federal government is intentionally allowing millions of illegal aliens to enter and settle in our country.

Governor Stitt, however, hesitated to sign the bill.

Meanwhile, Edurne Pineda, the blonde Mexican consul in Oklahoma City, publicly campaigned against the bill. Hey, what about the Vienna Convention?

At this point Governor Stitt should have firmly but politely told the Mexican consul to stay out of Oklahoma politics.

Instead, at a press conference, Stitt openly said he planned to consult on the matter with Consul Pineda. Quoth Stitt, “Hopefully, I can learn from her and then help the legislature design the bill that they’re trying to do.”

Think about it. The Governor of Oklahoma wanted a foreign diplomat to help craft legislation for Oklahoma!

Finally, Stitt signed the bill into law. But he simultaneously set up the “Oklahoma State Work Permits and Visas Task Force (OSWPV)” which practically defeats the purpose of the new law.

Stitt’s statement about the task force proves it was created to enable illegal foreign laborers in Oklahoma: “…[W]e must do our part to discover and provide pathways for migrant workers to legitimately contribute to our state without fear of being separated from their families and livelihoods and for Oklahoma businesses to hire and retain those valuable workers without unwarranted risk of deportation...”

And who’s on this task force? It’s composed of various Oklahoma officials, special appointees and the “Consul of Mexico in Oklahoma City or her designee.” So Governor Stitt has named a foreign diplomat to a task force on foreign labor.

Amazing! Where’s the outcry?

Allan Wall is a Spanish teacher in public school and resided for a decade and a half in Mexico. Allan writes about immigration-related issues, the contemporary Mexican scene, and how immigration is viewed south of the border. Allan’s website is www.allanwall.info