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With Mexico taking the lead, representatives of 14 Latin American countries with consulates in New York have joined together in a front to demand that local officials respect the rights of the millions of immigrants who live and work in this part of the U.S. Headed by Mexican Consul General Arturo Sarukhán, diplomats from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela announced the creation of the "New York Consular Commitment." The document, that calls for united and coordinated work with local authorities in order to protect the rights and well-being of Latin American immigrants, was sent to Governor George Pataki, with whom they met last week, and to Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Among the nine points included in the Council of the Americas pronouncement, one is that consuls will lobby so that immigrants will have reliable and valid official identification documents, such as matrículas consulares(consulate issued ID cards), that facilitate their access to public services. As well, they will exert pressure to insure compliance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations that requires authorities to inform diplomatic representatives when a fellow citizen is detained. [more]