The Mexican consulate in Brownsville says more people in the Rio Grande Valley are interested in getting dual citizenship.

It's a trend they say started to pick up last year and continues this year.

The consulate says one of the main drivers behind this trend are families that are afraid deportation will separate them.

"We are afraid of going out one day to earn our daily bread and suddenly never making it back home. That is our fear," Rogelio Ramirez said.

"If they were to take them away from us, or separate us, we didn't want to be forbidden from taking our children with us. That is why we wanted to do this," Maria Rodriguez said.

Maria and Rogelio's children now have dual citizenship in the United States and Mexico. They said they did it just in case someone in their family gets deported under current U.S. immigration policies.

"Families are being separated because we decided to act quickly, to protect them more than anything else, since the situation is very difficult. We come here to work, we don't come to do harm," Rogelio said.

The couple is already in the process of staying in the country legally, but they say this precaution is still needed.

It's a story the Mexican consulate in Brownsville has heard from other families.

"The fear of things are changing and the law hasn't changed. So whenever we talk about immigration, then you get this idea that you need to be prepared. What does it mean to be prepared? Ok, my kids need documents from Mexico as well," Consulate of Mexico in Brownsville Protective Services Augustin Angeles Rivera said.

They say that fear of separation due to deportation is one of the main reasons the consulate is seeing an increase of people seeking their services.

In 2024, almost 700 dual citizenship applications were processed; in 2025, there were more than 2,600.

"The first three months, comparing 2025 to 2026, it grew from 221 birth certificates to 700 plus, which means around 300 increase," Rivera said.

Others like Jimmy Nova came to the consulate for another reason. Nova was born in the U.S. but wants the option to come and go into Mexico as he pleases.

"It's a peace of mind if anything happens, they got somewhere to go. It is kind of like a backup plan type of deal," Nova said. "Just bring your papers, your documents and it is fairly easy. It takes about 20 minutes to become a Mexican citizen and about another 20 minutes to get your passport."

The Mexican consulate expects more Valley families to apply for dual citizenship and seek their services.

Watch the video above for the full story.