UPDATE: 400 show up to Mexican mobile consulate

Hundreds of Mexican nationals lined up in the Concord High gymnasium Saturday to apply for Mexican passports and other forms of Mexican identification. Another 30 people protested outside.

Mexican nationals like Adriana Mercado, 18, and Florinda Chela, 20, came with family members to renew their passports and a matricula consular so they could use them for identification and on trips to Mexico.

Consular officials said when Mexican nationals return home, they need valid passports to get back into Mexico. The matricula consular card serves as a second form of picture ID to be used primarily in the U.S. The card also provides proof of identity when enrolling children in school, applying for credit or getting an individual tax identification number from the IRS so Mexican nationals can pay U.S. income tax.

Outside the school, protester James Johnson, president of NCFIRE - short for North Carolinians for Immigration Reform and Enforcement - said he objected to the event being held on school property. He also questioned why the program was necessary.

"If they're in the country legally to start with, they already have the proper documentation," he said.

Read the rest of Kathy Haight's story on the event here.