There’s a new face in the boss’s office at the INM — Instituto Nacional de Migracion — a place where all foreign full- and part-time residents have to report at least once each year. Usually, the people entering this building in Playa Sur don’t have reason to walk upstairs to the second-floor executive office of the Regional Delegado of the INM. A very capable staff in the first-floor reception area takes care of all but the most extraordinary situations involving foreign citizens who live in the state of Sinaloa. The new Delegado, Lic. Adolfo Rojo Montoya, is the former mayor of Guamuchil, a city of 80,000 inhabitants that lies half-way between Culiacan and Los Mochis. A man in his 40s, handsome and personable, he arrived at his office on July 1 and was still in the midst of getting acquainted with the job and the staff when the Pacific Pearl caught up with him recently. Lic. Rojo said that when his term as mayor ended at the end of last year, he decided to take some exams for a federal government appointment: “There are new laws in Mexico,” he explained. “Officeholders have to comply with the requisites for the job.” This position had been vacant for 14 months. He was named to fill it by Magdalena Corral Cuevas, the head of the INM in Mexico City. A graduate of the University of Guadalajara and a proud native of Guamuchil (where, he pointed out, “Pedro Infante lived and Ana Gabriel was born”), he said he arrived in Mazatlan with his family but they have since returned home. His three children, two daughters and a son, went back to their schools, and his wife Margarita also is enrolled in classes there. While still learning the ins and outs of the job, Lic. Rojo did take time out for a ceremony in which four foreign citizens living in Sinaloa received their final documents to become Inmigrados. Normally, it takes 10 years to achieve this status granting a foreign individual the right to declare permanent residency in Mexico. Among the new inmigrados was a Swiss gentleman from Los Mochis and an American woman from Mazatlan, underscoring the facts that the local INM office’s jurisdiction extends throughout the state and that foreigners from many countries reside in Sinaloa. How many foreigners live in this state, and where do they come from? Actually, the INM knows more about that than any of the foreigners’ individual embassies or consulates, since the presence in this country of foreign citizens requires proper documentation from the INM. When asked the question, Lic. Rojo seemed surprised himself as he glanced at a list specifying the various nationalities and their numbers. “Almost all the world,” he said, “a total of 102 different nationalities are

living here.” Less surprising is where most of the foreigners originate: “We have 3,800 citizens of the United States, or 44% of the total,” said Rojo, “while about 1,000 Canadians make up 11%.” Would you guess that the third largest group, at 5%, is from China? Yep, Sinaloa has 420 Chinese citizens, most of them living in Culiacan. The Chinese in Mazatlan are Mexican citizens, having been here for many generations, and they are well integrated into the local community. Instead of the capital, Culiacan, the INM has long established its statewide headquarters in Mazatlan for a variety of reasons, said the new regional delegate: “For one thing, 30 to 35 international flights land here each week — double that in winter — and four international cruise lines call here regularly, others occasionally. We review all their documents, and we know the names and nationalities of every cruise passenger.” These one-day visitors require no special documents from the INM but once in a while, the unusual happens. A sick passenger is brought ashore to the hospital or a careless passenger misses the boat. That’s when the INM has to see that these people receive some type of documentation — Lic. Rojo called it an “oficio” — so they can leave the country without a hassle at the airport. The INM has a couple of smaller offices throughout the state where foreign citizens can renew their FM-3s (signifying temporary residence in Mexico) and FM-2s (leading to permanent residence), but they have to travel to Mazatlan for their inmigrado papers. The August ceremony was but the first of several over which Lic. Rojo will preside in the next year or so as more foreign citizens become eligible for permanent resident status. Considering the many languages spoken by the foreigners his office deals with, it’s a convenience to English speakers that most of the signs in the reception area are in English as well as in Spanish. But, as Lic. Rojo noted: “We are employees of the Department of Immigration of the Republic of Mexico. It is not our duty to speak English, it is your duty to make yourselves understood to us. Or to bring an interpreter.” Still, he does recognize that English is the most common foreign language spoken in this popular beach resort. And to the Anglo community he had these parting words: “We will try to continue serving you with the efficiency and good humor you have come to expect.” The INM building is 4 ½ blocks beyond the glorieta where Aquiles Serdan meets Avenida Aleman, on the street called the Prolongacion de Aquiles Serdan. It is open Mondays through Fridays and helps newcomers obtain and renew their documents between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. jackie@pacificpearl.com