Mexico opens legal aid centers at dozens of US consulates

The Mexican government has opened legal assistance centers at its 50 consulates in the U.S. amid fears of a crackdown on undocumented immigrants by the Trump administration, Reuters reported Saturday.

“We are not promoting illegality,” Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said during an event at the Mexican consulate in New York, according to a video cited by Reuters.

“Today we are facing a situation that can paradoxically represent an opportunity, when suddenly a government wants to apply the law more severely,” he added.

{mosads}The decision to open new legal aid centers comes in the wake of President Trump’s push for tougher enforcement of U.S. immigration and deportation policies.

Last month, federal authorities conducted numerous raids around the country arresting and detaining hundreds of suspected illegal immigrants.

But critics have blasted the Trump administration’s moves, with various communities pushing back on attempts to deport those who have been living in the U.S. and pledging to help immigrants avoid deportation.

Several religious leaders in California reacted to the change in policy by forming an underground network of homes with the aim of giving shelter to hundreds and potentially thousands of immigrants.

“It is becoming more than evident that to apply the law, which is the obligation of any state, would also imply a real economic damage to this country which highlights the need for immigration reform, an immigration reform that resolves once and for all the legal status of the people,” Videgaray argued Saturday.