- Utah’s Colombian and Ecuadorian communities seek consular offices in the state amid population growth.
- Colombianos Unidos Utah and Mijines en Utah launched petitions to promote the efforts, though each has garnered just 500-plus signatures.
- Consular offices issue passports, among other things, and Mexico, El Salvador and Peru presently have consulates in Utah.
SALT LAKE CITY — As Utah’s Latino population grows, members of the Colombian and Ecuadorian communities want better access to services provided by their home countries.
“We need a consulate here in Utah because there are many Ecuadorians here. Utah is an easy-going, family-oriented state, and this has drawn the immigrant community,” said Juan Carlos Llumipanta, who leads Mijines en Utah, a cultural and education group geared to Ecuadorians and Ecuadorian Americans in the state.
Likewise, Jonatan Fonseca, of Colombianos Unidos Utah, a cultural group geared to the Colombian community, said consular access would be welcome in the state given the long trip otherwise required to the Colombian Consulate in San Francisco. His group launched a public petition calling on Colombian authorities to open a consulate in Utah. As is, officials from the San Francisco office travel to Utah just once or twice a year, and they typically can’t serve all those seeking help…