Juan Padilla does not have a valid ID, his ID expired many years ago and to renew it he needed to do it from Honduras.
An obstacle for this immigrant who entered the country undocumented in 2006 to obtain an ID.
This Wednesday, however, Padilla visited the Honduran consulate, at 120 West 23rd Street in Manhattan, to be one of the first to request his ID or DNI, the national identification document.
“I feel good, I feel happy, not only for myself, but for all Hondurans who are now going to be able to have identification,” Padilla explained.
For the first time in history, Hondurans residing in New York and throughout the country will be able to request their DNI, the national identification document, from the consulates of the United States and receive it the same day.
A document that also gives them the right to vote and that also serves as identification.
“We can open a bank account, we can go anywhere they ask for identification,” Padilla added.
Antonio García, deputy foreign minister for consular and migratory affairs of Honduras, said that this is part of the government’s plan for the first 100 days of President Xiomara Castro de Zelaya.
Today was a historic day promoted by the government of the president @XiomaraCastroZ to improve attention to the needs of our compatriots; the launch of the electronic passport and the enrollment process permanently in the @consuladohnny. @CancilleriaHN pic.twitter.com/rpB7U7R0Vt
— Honduran NY Consulate (@consuladohnny) April 28, 2022
“We live off of our compatriots in the United States and the world, without them this country would be a failure, we receive 25 to 30 percent of foreign currency thanks to remittances,” Garcia said.
In addition to this identification, they are also processing the electronic passport for the first time to protect its bearers from identity fraud.
“This passport is the latest security technology and contains a ‘microchip’ that has all the citizen’s information,” explained Jessica Canahuati, Honduran consul general in New York.
These services will benefit nearly one million Hondurans living in the tri-state area.
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The deputy foreign minister added that there are still more problems to solve at the consulate, such as establishing a system so that those interested can attend by appointment.
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