Mexican Consul General Remedios Gomez Arnau and Georgia Protocol Chief Chris Young.

As she did in Atlanta, Mexican Consul General Remedios Gomez Arnau aims to continue working to protect the rights of Mexican nationals as she relocates to San Diego, she told GlobalAtlanta.

Effective Feb. 1, Ms. Gomez Arnau will become the consul general of Mexico in San Diego, while Salvador de Lara, former director of regional and multilateral organisms in Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will become consul general in Atlanta.

“I am very pleased to have the opportunity to serve a Mexican community that has other characteristics but some of the same issues, like employment, health, documentation and protecting the rights of Mexican citizens in the United States,” said Ms. Gomez Arnau.

“San Diego will be different because there are many issues surrounding the border, but like in Atlanta, I will continue to promote good relationships between Mexico and the U.S.,” she said.

She will serve about 1.4 million Mexican nationals living in the San Diego region, she added.

During her nearly seven-year tenure in Atlanta, Ms. Gomez Arnau presided over some 300,000 Mexican nationals living in a jurisdiction including Georgia, Alabama and 74 counties in Tennessee. 

Since 2001, the Mexican consulate has issued 256,933 Mexican national identification cards, 160,834 passports, 21,942 documents for foreigners, 8,264 birth registrations, 7,084 notarized documents, 2,791 transports of cadavers to Mexico and 646 marriage certificates.

Ms. Gomez Arnau introduced the consulate’s annual Mexican Health Week and Binational Health Week, during which the consulate offers free medical exams for Mexican nationals and their families. The consulate also opened a health window in its offices to advise Mexicans about low-cost health options for themselves and their children born in the U.S.

The consul general also began plans for the future construction of a new building to house the consulate and obtained authorization for a “mobile consulate” that would make weekly journeys to cities around the consulate’s jurisdiction, providing services remotely to reduce wait times in Atlanta for passports and ID cards.

In cooperation with the Georgia Department of Education, Ms. Gomez Arnau led efforts to open 23 community centers, where Mexicans and Hispanics can complete their primary and secondary education, as well as learn English and computer skills and obtain skilled labor certifications.

The consulate began campaigns to deter Mexicans from drinking and driving and created information packets about Mexicans’ rights when incarcerated, the U.S. penal system, the deportation process, small claims court and how to send a body to Mexico for burial.

Under Ms. Gomez Arnau’s guidance, the consulate began disseminating a weekly newsletter, updating its Web site and providing televised broadcasts to Mexican residents. She also helped publish a book on Mexican immigration to the Southeast U.S. and a study on Mexicans in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi.

The Institute of Mexico, an organization that promotes cultural awareness and hosts community programs about Mexican culture, was established with help from the consulate.

Amid growing tension surrounding illegal immigration, Ms. Gomez Arnau’s consulate has educated Mexican nationals and the general public about immigrants’ rights in the community and workplace. The consul general has pushed for the acceptance of the Mexican national ID card at regional banking institutions and other service providers.

The Atlanta Consular Corps held a special farewell luncheon for her on Jan. 11, where representatives from the office of Mayor Shirley Franklin, as well as many of Atlanta’s more than 50 consuls general, were present. Ms. Gomez Arnau has served as the dean of that group since 2004.

During the event, Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel named Ms. Gomez Arnau an honorary citizen of Georgia, and Chris Young, Georgia’s chief of protocol and director of international affairs for the Georgia Department of Economic Development, presented her with a commendation from Gov. Sonny Perdue.

Argentine Consul General Carlos Layus presented Ms. Gomez Arnau with a plaque commemorating her work as dean of the Consular Corps. Mr. Layus, the longest-serving consul in Atlanta following Ms. Gomez Arnau’s departure, is the corps’ new dean.

Before her appointment in Atlanta by Mexican President Vicente Fox in 2001, Ms. Gomez Arnau served as academic secretary and associate researcher of the Center for Research of North America at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

She also worked as director of consular protection, deputy director of consular protection studies and head of the Department of Legal Affairs with the U.S. at Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Ms. Gomez Arnau also served as consultant to human rights organizations and foreign policy makers.