A plan to close the Italian Consulate in Newark, New Jersey in March 2014 has sparked criticism.
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to shut the consulate in an effort to save money. Thirteen Italian consulates are being closed worldwide and the Newark consulate is the only one to be closed in the USA.
The consulate handles paperwork such as passport renewals, processing visas and stamping wills for the Italian community. The Italian Embassy in Washington D.C. said some 4,000 people use the Newark consulate’s services. If the closure goes ahead, people would have to use the services of a smaller vice consulate in Trenton that offers limited services, or use the consulates in New York City or Philadelphia.
New Jersey has long had ties to Italy, being the home state of singers Frankie Valli and Frank Sinatra. New Jersey is home to the fourth largest number of Italian-Americans in the USA and has the second highest number of Italian immigrants. According to the 2010 census, some 17% of residents – approximately 1.49 million people – have Italian ancestry.
The proposed closure has caused an outcry among Italians in New Jersey. ‘The Wall Street Journal’ reports that the New Jersey Legislature is appealing to the Italian government to save the consulate. New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez and Representative for New Jersey’s 9th congressional district Bill Pascrell have urged the Italian ambassador to reverse his decision.
New Jersey resident, former mayor of Licata in Sicily and member of the General Council of Italians Living Abroad, Augusto Sorriso, has said that the group is planning protests against the closure at the Newark consulate and the Italian Embassy in Washington D.C.
