Kirk's Fall Abuelitas Program Helps Connect over 160 Relatives of Mexican Descent with Families in Illinois

Press Release

U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) today celebrated the closing to his fall Abuelitas program, which helped connect over 160 relatives of Mexican descent with their family members in Illinois throughout September and October.

The program kicked off with "La Copa Del Senado," a soccer tournament, held on August 22, 2015, for several Mexican social clubs throughout Illinois. The winning team was La Luz from the Michoacan social club.

"This fall, we celebrated the rich culture of Mexico and all of the families that have been reunited through Abuelitas," said Senator Kirk. "I will continue to work with social clubs across Illinois to further develop programs with the Mexican-American community so that we can bring more families together."

In 2011, Dario Lopez, Jr., a 12-year-old from Aurora was able to meet his grandmother for the first time thanks to Senator Kirk's Abuelitas. Dario heard stories from his grandparents about his Mexican heritage, and said his favorite part about the visit was that his grandmother got to tell him stories about his mother as a little girl that he never knew. Unfortunately, Dario's grandmother passed away shortly after her visit. He was thankful that his family was able to utilize Senator Kirk's program so that he could meet her before she passed away.

Since its inception, Abuelitas has helped reunite roughly 2,700 people like Dario's grandmother with their Illinois relatives of Mexican descent.

Senator Kirk created Abuelitas in December 2005 after many Illinois residents of Mexican descent shared stories about the difficulties of visiting relatives here in the United States. Many children had never met their grandparents. The program originally helped Mexican grandmothers and grandfathers obtain short-term travel visas for the purpose of visiting their relatives in the United States. Senator Kirk later expanded the program to help other family members, such as brothers and sisters, to visit relatives in Illinois.

The State of Illinois is home to over 1.5 million citizens of Mexican descent. With this in mind, Senator Kirk has committed himself to working with local Mexican Social Clubs, including the Tonatico, La Luz, El Cuitzillo and San Jose Social Clubs, to expand Abuelitas, increase program frequency, and provide program opportunities in more areas throughout the state. Currently, Senator Kirk is expanding Abuelitas to Rockford, Joliet and Southern Illinois.

The next Abuelitas program will take place in December, 2015.

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