Deputies César Ismael Guerrero Alarcón and Juana Minerva Vázquez González from the Immigration Affairs Commission of the Congress of the state of Sinaloa, accompanied by Lupita Galeana, visited southern California to invite the Sinaloa 2024 Migrant Forum to be held on November 22 and 23 in the city of Mochis and the port of Topolobampo.
“The idea is that all Sinaloan countrymen and interested Latinos can attend in person or through digital platforms,” said Deputy Guerrero.
He recalled that the first Migrant Forum was held in Culiacán; the second in Lynwood, California, and the third will take place in northern Sinaloa.
“It is an exchange of political, economic, cultural, social and professional issues through working groups.”
Representative Vázquez said that since 2021 they managed to get the Immigration Affairs Commission approved in the Sinaloa Congress.
“From there, we began to work with migrant forums to listen, discuss and address the needs that arise among countrymen and their families in Mexico.”
He noted that they have been advancing little by little.
“These conversation and dialogue tables during these strategic meetings have allowed us to know what we need to do in Mexico to support them and give them representation.”
Mexican deputies César Ismael Guerrero and María Guadalupe Galeana accompanied by Juana Minerva Vásquez visit Los Angeles.Credit: Araceli Martínez Ortega | Impremedia
Deputies Guerrero and Vázquez stressed that for the 2027 elections, Sinaloans who live outside of Mexico will be able to vote for governor of Sinaloa; and they calculated that there are approximately one million Sinaloans living in the United States, especially in the states of California, Texas, Arizona and the city of Chicago.
“Participation in the gubernatorial elections has been an important topic within the migrant forums,” said Congressman Guerrero.
Another issue that has been raised in meetings with groups, fraternities and binational networks has been the creation of Casa Sinaloa in California.
“Just as other states have their own houses, we want to have Casa Sinaloa so that countrymen can be helped through government offices with their administrative procedures and other needs.”
One of the most relevant topics that will be presented at the Forum will be taught by Lupita Galena, and has to do with how immigrants can retire in Mexico from abroad.
“There are two options. If they already had a social security number and have weeks of contributions, there is already a plan to retire, but if they have never worked in Mexico, they can also access as independent workers.”
Ms. Galeana will develop the topic in the Forum, but also offered her telephone number 52-668-162-2177 to give all the information to those who need it, and want to know how to retire in Mexico.
Representative Vázquez said that migrants can combine their two work efforts in both Mexico and the United States so that they retire with a good pension from both countries.
“In the end, everyone wants to return home, to their place of origin, and what better than having currency liquidity in the region.”
Another of the topics that will be addressed at the Migrant Forum 2024 will be taught by the Secretary of Economy, Javier Gaxiola Coppel so that Sinaloa migrants learn about business and investment opportunities in Sinaloa.
“Guadalupe Acuña will talk about the Ruta de Anza about how the families of Culiacán formed what is today the port of San Francisco; “The historian Ernesto Gatica will talk about the creation of Los Mochis through the vision of an American, and how this city was created from the sugar mill.”
He revealed that the figure of the migrant deputy will be a presentation by the vice mayor of the city of Lynwood, Rita Soto, a Sinaloan from the town of Bamoa.
“Sinaloa does not have a migrant deputy, and we are looking to make it a reality,” said Deputy Guerrero.
Senator Imelda Castro will talk about immigration policies at the federal level; and will highlight the issue of how the participation of Sinaloan migrants with their vote from abroad in the elections in 2027 will play an important role.
In terms of security, he mentioned they have established corridors to formalize points that provide help and protection to those who travel on the roads of Sinaloa.
“We want to tell you that both the state and federal governments and the municipalities have worked together to create these security corridors.”
He added that the three levels of government work exhaustively so that those who live there, as well as those who travel through the state, feel safe.
“We can say that security is being restored and the economy is returning to normal. The northern part of the state has not stopped working and receiving investment, and not only Americans are moving to Mazatlán but also to Los Mochis and El Fuerte; and the Chepe train route that goes from Sinaloa to Chihuahua attracts a lot of tourism.”
Representative Vázquez said that the Forum is a great opportunity for Sinaloan migrants, because with their remittances they have been a relevant factor for their communities to advance.
“We are fulfilling the responsibility of listening to their demands and needs wherever they live in the world, and we want them to attend that forum because it is important to continue working for the people of Sinaloa.”
However, he said that they not only want them to participate in the work of the Migrant Forum but also to enjoy the attractions of Sinaloa such as the food, Sinaloan banda music and the warmth of its people.
“The state has open arms to receive our migrants who so empower Sinaloa from the United States.”
Both deputies said that both the mayor of Ahome, Gerardo Vargas, and the governor Ruben Rocha Mocha are supporting the Forum so that the participants feel safe when establishing their dialogues and conversations.
