CHARLOTTE, N.C. -  As more states pass their own immigration enforcement laws, the debate is shifting from Washington, D.C. to the local level. That's why members of the Mexican Consulate of the Carolinas were in Charlotte, trying to get involved in protecting their citizens when facing the judicial system.

Carlos Flores Vizcarra is the Consul General of Mexico in the Carolinas. "It is not granting them more, its just treating them as they should be treated."

At the Mecklenburg County Courthouse, Vizcarra talked to the legal community about making the U.S. justice system fair and accessible for all, whether those individuals are here legally or undocumented.

"They either want to get some papers registered or filed or they want to get a process done," said Maura Chavez, the Community Support Coordinator at the Trial Court Administrator's Office in the Mecklenburg County Courthouse.

However, organizations like the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which supports tougher enforcement, says the proper role of the Mexican Consulate is to only serve as a liaison between foreign citizens and their own government, not as an adviser to U.S. local governments.

"What the Consulate in North Carolina and around the country seem to be doing is serving as an intermediary between Mexicans and our government and our judicial process," said Ira Mehlman, national spokesman for FAIR. "That is not their role."

But  undocumented immigrants are going through the U.S. court system. Being told by police and prosecutors that they have certain rights, like access to legal counsel and contact with their local consulate, helps the judicial process.

"It's helpful to us to know what resources they have when we determine whether or not they are legal citizens or not," said Sheena Gatehouse, Assistant District Attorney for Mecklenburg County, "because that factors into some of the considerations we make."

On the other side, defense attorney David Concha says having access to interpreters is also key. "My particular clients primarily speak being Spanish speaking, are trying to understand what the process, what are the consequences, of the cases they are dealing with."

Otherwise, Spanish speaking defendants who are found guilty could later say they didn't know what was going on in the courtroom.

"The lack of interpreters has led to situations where cases have to be dismissed, or cases have to be continued, or even there have been cases where it has been necessary to appeal the results of their case," said Luis Concha, state certified interpreter in the Mecklenburg County Courthouse.