Latino Advisory Board
Reuniting Illinois families
Reuniting Illinois families
In addition to working with his advisory board to further the interests of our Latino community, Senator Kirk works closely with local mexican social clubs to help reunite Illinois families with estranged family members still living in Mexico. In December of 2005, Senator Kirk, in coordination with mexican social clubs, established the Abuelitas (Spanish for “grandmothers”) Program to help senior citizens in Mexico obtain 30-day travel visas for the purpose of visiting their American relatives. Thanks to this program, over 1,000 Mexican men and women have been reunited with their estranged family members in Illinois. Senator Kirk’s office is currently working to acquire visas for two more groups of “abuelitas” who will likely be visiting Illinois next month.
