Oscar Padilla Lam, Guatemala’s consul general in New York, got a quick tour of Morristown’s town hall from Mayor Tim Dougherty on Friday.
The consul general will return to Morristown on Saturday, June 25, from 9 am to 6 pm at St. Margaret’s Church, to help local Guatemalans update their passports and register newborns for dual citizenship, he said.
“It’s a very nice community, honest people, hard-working. We want to work with them to learn respect for the law,” said the official, who previously represented Guatemala in Arizona.
According to recent U.S. Census figures, 34 percent of Morristown’s population is Latino. It is unclear how many of those residents are Guatemalan.
Apartment overcrowding has been a problem from time to time in the town’s Latino community; the prior administration wanted to deputize police as immigration officers to deal with illegal aliens. The move was controversial and the present administration has not pursued it.
“It’s all about education,” said Mayor Dougherty. “We don’t enforce federal laws. Be we sure can educate citizens about our laws, and state and county laws.”
The Mayor and Police Chief Pete Demnitz gave the consul general and his assistant a quick tour of police headquarters, including the basement jail area and record rooms that were damaged by flooding from a burst pipe in April.
Mayor Dougherty also gave the visitors a framed proclamation, and Morristown caps. The consul general gave the Mayor a book about Guatemala.
