Low Profile? Not for This Consul

Bilingual fliers posted all over the Santa Ana jail were the Orange County Mexican consul’s idea. Meant to remind Mexican citizens that they have civil rights under U.S. laws, the posters also are a sign of the new emissary’s proactive diplomacy.

In a profession where caution and tact are watchwords, 37-year-old Miguel Angel Isidro is an anomaly: a diplomat who is jumping feet first into local political affairs. Since taking over the Santa Ana consulate Oct. 1, he has taken an activist role that experts call unusual--and risky.

Isidro is meeting with county officials to address Santa Ana’s high pedestrian fatality rate, the rights of day laborers, crimes committed by Mexican nationals against other Mexicans and a plan in Anaheim to bill foreign countries for education of illegal immigrants.

Isidro makes no apologies for the aggressive approach, vowing to help solve tough problems that have plagued the county’s Mexican immigrants for the past decade. He wants to take his job beyond its traditional bureaucratic role to become a liaison between Mexico and Orange County.

“I’ve expressed my desire to be a communications bridge between our country and the local authorities,” said Isidro, who lives in Orange with his wife and 18-month-old daughter. “I’m completely convinced that by working together we can create a better atmosphere of understanding. I want the accomplishments and contributions of the Mexican community to be recognized.”

Isidro, who set his heart on a career in the foreign service by 13, was deputy consul in Phoenix for three years before he was selected to replace Marisela Quijano in Orange County. He is fluent in English and French, and he also served as the Mexican consul in Hungary for four years.

Like Quijano, Isidro is presiding over the Mexican Consulate in a climate of political tension over immigration.

“Immigration is something that everyone in this community talks about,” Isidro said. “In Arizona, the anti-immigrant sentiment was less virulent. I think it is important for me to underscore the positive aspects of immigration. I see that as one of my primary tasks.”

While Quijano viewed herself as an ambassador for the Mexican people, Isidro wants to expand his position to that of a leader who can help bring changes for Mexicans living in Orange County.

This marks a big change, said Jess Araujo, a Santa Ana lawyer who works for the consulate.

“I’ve been through four different consuls,” said Araujo. “Within the first 10 days, I realized that he brings a very focused agenda to aggressively and diplomatically deal with the issues between countries. Most of the consuls I’ve dealt with rarely engaged in conversations regarding their personal beliefs on issues.”

Traditionally, consuls take a low-key approach to serving the citizens of their countries in the United States, said Roderic Camp, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College.

“It’s surprising that on a consular level someone would become involved in what might be described as local or state politics,” Camp said. “That’s a very unique way of serving in the Mexican Foreign Service. Basically, they’re supposed to serve the interests of Mexicans residing in the U.S. Typically, they tend to be more mundane services.”

The main job of a consul is to promote trade by connecting American and Mexican individuals and companies, said P. Edward Haley, a professor of international relations also at Claremont McKenna. Although it is unusual for a consul to address high-profile political and social issues, there are no written policies that prevent it, Haley said.

“There is no code of conduct, just a set of habits and expectations,” Haley said. “Some will be more active than others. But the risk is very clear that he will step on the feelings of American citizens as a representative of a foreign government. It could be counterproductive.”

But so far, Orange County officials have welcomed Isidro’s activist style. Weeks after he was appointed, Isidro toured Santa Ana police headquarters and the jail to evaluate the living conditions of inmates and learn how the department operates. There, while talking with Police Chief Paul M. Walters and Sgt. Jose Vargas, Isidro got the idea to post fliers reminding Mexican nationals that they have rights even though they are behind bars.

The Police Department and the consulate will collaborate again in a few weeks to distribute fliers in areas where day laborers congregate. The idea is to educate the workers on municipal codes they must obey if they want to seek jobs without being cited by the police, Vargas said. Isidro will soon meet with Sheriff Mike Carona to address the same topic.

“Unfortunately, there are some conservative political sectors in the county that have a negative view toward immigration because they don’t understand what immigrants bring here,” Isidro said. “Everywhere you go in this county, you see the fruits of their labor. They are responsible for such things as the landscaped golf courses, well-kept residential gardens and our agricultural riches.”

Isidro also plans to address pedestrian safety, particularly in central Orange County, where Latinos are twice as likely to be struck by a car as whites. Isidro and Walters want to create a program to educate Mexican immigrants on traffic and pedestrian laws, Vargas said. “The only way we’re going to be able to control pedestrian injuries is through education,” Vargas said. “We try to do that, but people don’t always listen to the cops. Maybe they won’t believe the cops, but they’ll believe the consul.”

Over a lengthy lunch with Dist. Atty. Anthony J. Rackauckas, Isidro and the county’s top prosecutor discussed the consulate’s cooperation when both the suspects and victims in criminal cases are Mexican nationals, Rackauckas said. Isidro also wants to get involved with the district attorney’s new program to teach Latino immigrants to report crimes and assist police and prosecutors in cases.

“I had met the former consul, but I never spent any time with her,” Rackauckas said. “I found (Isidro) to be very expressive about looking out for the welfare of people here, particularly the recent immigrants from Mexico. I certainly intend to work with him when the need arises.”

Isidro has met with Santa Ana Mayor Miguel A. Pulido Jr. and is scheduling meetings with the mayors of Orange, Costa Mesa and Anaheim, all cities with high concentrations of Latino residents. He also intends to request a meeting with the Anaheim Union High School District board to discuss a recent resolution that seeks payment from foreign countries for the education of students whose parents live here illegally.

“If he’s really good with people and can understand with sensitivity all sides, he could really do some good and people would be grateful,” said Haley of Claremont McKenna. “If it becomes controversial, his standing will sometimes become awkward. If, for example, he were to endorse a local candidate for election or take positions on issues having to do with schools or taxes, that might be overstepping the boundaries.”

So far, nobody in Orange County has complained about the new consul’s fast-paced activism.

“With this consul we’re going to work closer than with any other consul we had before,” Vargas said. “We haven’t had this kind of cooperation before.”