ROBERTSDALE, Alabama -- While tougher laws serve to crack down on illegal immigration in the state, one group, with the help of a local church, was working this past week to help its citizens operate legally in the United States.

A team from the Traveling Mexican Consulate worked all last week, hosted by St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Robertsdale to assist Mexican citizens obtain documentation, such as visas and passports, they may need to obtain legal status in the United States.

“I think it helps reach out to the larger Hispanic Catholic population we have here,” said Father Patrick Madden, pastor of St. Patrick’s Church, “and it serves as a witness to the community at large that we can be part of the solution to such a sensitive issue as immigration rather than part of the problem.”

Stella Knight, who heads the immigration program for Catholic Social Services in Robertsdale, estimated that about 500 residents were processed at the church, beginning Monday and running through Friday of last week.

Knight said obtaining a visa and a passport is important for immigrants living in the United States because often times it is their only acceptable form of identification they have.

“Any type of application in the United States requires identification,” she said. “The idea is that a passport serves as an acceptable form of identification for law enforcement, to get insurance, apply for a job, just any type of activity that requires identification.”

The group also works with residents to perform background checks.

Knight said Catholic Social Services works with immigrants year-round to keep them informed of any changes in the law and to try and help them work through any issues they might have.

“This is a group that is very susceptible to people who might try to take advantage of them,” she said.

One group they are susceptible to is what Mexican citizens call notaros or notaries.

“In Mexico, a notaro acts as an attorney that can handle all legal matters,” she said, “but in the United States, notaries can only serve as a witness to a legal document and cannot perform legal services. Oftentimes, people pass themselves off as an attorney when in fact they have no legal power.”

Knight said she wanted to thank Madden and St. Patrick’s for hosting the Mexican Consulate group.

Madden said having the group here in Robertsdale also serves as a learning tool for the students at St. Patrick School.

“I think this program serves as a good example for our students to learn that we can make a difference in such a sensitive issue as immigration,” he said.

The group plans to return in November, Madden said.