• ABOUT
    • HISTORY
    • BELIEFS
    • MISSION
    • BOARD OF DIRECTORS
    • OUR TEAM
    • JOIN OUR TEAM
  • PROJECTS
    • OUR MODEL
    • ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION
    • MOBILIZE
    • WHERE WE WORK
    • PHOTOGRAPHY
  • RESOURCES
    • TRAINING
    • LIBRARY
  • NEWS
  • DONATE
  • EspañolEspañol
  • ABOUT
    • HISTORY
    • BELIEFS
    • MISSION
    • BOARD OF DIRECTORS
    • OUR TEAM
    • JOIN OUR TEAM
  • PROJECTS
    • OUR MODEL
    • ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION
    • MOBILIZE
    • WHERE WE WORK
    • PHOTOGRAPHY
  • RESOURCES
    • TRAINING
    • LIBRARY
  • NEWS
  • DONATE
  • EspañolEspañol
March 15, 2017  |  By Douglas Keillor In News

Complicated Family Reunification


By Olivia Meneses Coordinator of the Mobilize Volunteers Project

This is the second time we have completed Family Reunification in Chihuahua. This time I coordinated it remotely from Mexico City, but I would still like to share some of the stories of families and the teenagers. This time there were four mothers that we helped by providing transportation so that they could go to visiting day at the CERSAI (Specialized Juvenile Center for Social Reintegration). Three of the mothers traveled from the same town three and a half hours away by bus. They each hadn’t seen their children for about three months. The other mother traveled from the country outside of a town eight hours away by bus and she hadn’t seen her son for two years.

It sounds so simple to say that we bought bus tickets for four mothers to be able to visit their children, but it was not so simple in all the cases. This time I faced some new challenges from the last time we ran this project. The mother from the town eight hours away hadn’t seen her son for a very long time, during which she hadn’t had the resources nor the opportunity to travel. Despite being very excited by the possibility of seeing her son, because of the distance and the strict visiting hours at the detention center, she had to get on a bus at night and travel all night to a city she had rarely visited. The bus left at midnight from the bus station but once she was at the station, she began to think about traveling alone at night to a place she didn’t know. All those thoughts began to cause stress and anxiety until she started to change her mind about going. She was paralyzed. While you might think that is incredible, she reached the point of deciding to return to her home in the country. And it was just a few minutes until the bus was set to depart.

So, I got on the phone with her. And in the end, she was reassured and convinced both by her husband who was there at the bus station and by the words I spoke to her on the phone to calm her. But the thing that really convinced her was the love of a mother and knowing that her son was anxiously waiting to see her. So, she got on the bus.

Fortunately, after meeting her son I received a call from her to tell me that everything turned out well. She spent visiting day with her son and she was very grateful to be able to have the opportunity. This despite the fact she had to wait a few more hours at the bus terminal in the city to take another night bus to return home. But this time, she sounded different, calm and happy. It had been worth it. Even though we were not there when she met her son, just being able to hear in her voice the gratefulness, re-energizes me to continue this work on the Family Reunification Project.

Chihuahua Dia de Visita Family Reunification Reunificación Familiar Visiting Day
Previous StoryThis weekend, a mother saw her son for the first time in three years
Next Story“Know your rights” empowering juveniles and families…

Related Articles

  • FreedomForKids-6
    JJAI piloting has a positive impact on adolescents in conflict with the law
  • Rebecca Rosefelt Goes to Prison

Leave your comment Cancel Reply

(will not be shared)

Webinar on COVID-19, Humanitaria Crisis for Youth in Detention in Latin America – Spanish only:

https://youtu.be/3MOSFq_hE1M

March 26th Webinar on COVID-19 and Challenges to the Juvenile Justice System in Mexico – Spanish only:

https://youtu.be/52zianCu_3A

SEE MORE ABOUT

  • ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION
  • MOBILIZE
  • TRAINING
  • LIBRARY

GET IN TOUCH

  • CONTRIBUTE
  • CONTACT US
  • JOIN AS A VOLUNTEER
  • EMPLOYMENT

FIND US ELSEWHERE

Juvenile Justice Advocates International
US-registered 501(c)(3) non-profit. Copyrights Reserved ©2022

Mobilize 2023

$
Select Payment Method
Personal Info

Donate quickly and securely with Stripe

How it works: A Stripe window will open after you click the Donate Now button where you can securely make your donation. You will then be brought back to this page to view your receipt.

Juvenile Justice Advocates

25.00
Mobilize 2023

Donation Total: $910.00 One Time


How the U.S. exports failed policies:

  • International Funding

The U.S. funds more police, court, prosecutor and prison development projects around the world than any other funder.

  • Prison Accreditation.

With U.S. financial support, the American Correctional Association (ACA) has accredited prisons in Mexico, Columbia and the United Arab Emirates. Many of these facilities have documented histories of grave human rights abuses, systemic child abuse and cartel infiltration despite accreditation and re-accreditation by the ACA.

Senator Elizabeth Warren’s report on the failure of the ACA in the U.S. shows why the U.S. should not be funding the ACA overseas.

  • Police Training

U.S. police officers with documented histories of misconduct are hired by the U.S. State Department and sent to developing countries to train police units. 

  • Mass Incarceration and Plea Bargaining 

U.S.-backed plea-bargaining reforms have proliferated across the globe, endangering defendants’ rights to a trial and incentivizing excessive bail and pretrial detention.

  • Drug War Policies

Drug war policies have led to the dramatic growth of incarceration in Latin America, particularly of women. 

  • U.S Criminal Justice Sold as the “Gold Standard”

There is often an assumption that U.S. practices and policies represent a “higher standard,” are “more modern” and “more professional.” 

photo 1
  • Rejecting Key International Laws

The US is not a party to key human rights treaties governing criminal justice, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child  and the American Convention on Human Rights despite the fact that nearly every country where the U.S. promotes its practices are parties to these international instruments.

  • Prioritizing Security Interests over Human Rights

Security, not human rights or community safety, is the priority of the U.S. criminal justice’s foreign investments. This can undermine local reforms to limit police and prosecutor power or reduce incarceration.


photo 1

Donate Exporting Justice Not Prisons

$
 
Select Payment Method
Personal Info

Donate quickly and securely with Stripe

How it works: A Stripe window will open after you click the Donate Now button where you can securely make your donation. You will then be brought back to this page to view your receipt.

Juvenile Justice Advocates

25.00
Donate Exporting Justice Not Prisons

Donation Total: $200.00 One Time

Optional
Loading
photo 1

“Convention on the Rights of the Child”

“A Broken Prison and Detention Facility Accreditation System That Puts Profits Over People,” the Office of Senator Elizabeth Warren, December 2020. 

“How Washington Exports Failed Criminal Justice Policies,”  Douglas Keillor, The Crime Report, August 27, 2020.

“Prison: America’s Most Vile Export?” Baz Dreisinger, The Atlantic, September 30, 2015.

“Rights of persons deprived of liberty and privatization of the penitentiary system in Mexico,” Hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, ACHR, April 7, 2016.

“Privatización del sistema penitenciario en México,” Documenta, et al, 2016. 

“Defund the Global Policeman”, Studart Schrader,  n+1 Magazine, Issue 38, Fall 2020, 

Schrader, Stuart (2019) Badges Without Borders: How Global Counterinsurgency Transformed American Policing, University of California Press.


Guerrero

Después de años de lucha y problemas de inseguridad, decidimos en 2022 cerrar nuestro proyecto en Guerrero. Pudimos implementar nuestro instrumento de evaluación previa al juicio para garantizar que los jóvenes de bajo riesgo permanezcan en sus comunidades. Y brindamos apoyo a más de 220 jóvenes, como parte de nuestro proyecto de Movilizando Voluntarios.

photo 1
photo 2
photo 1
photo 1
photo 1
photo 3
photo 2
photo 4
photo 1
photo 3
photo 3
photo 4

Chiapas

Por invitación del Poder Judicial del Estado de Chiapas, realizamos un estudio para evaluar la viabilidad de implementar nuestros proyectos en la región. En 2022, nuestro equipo presentó los resultados y recomendaciones. El gobierno estatal ahora está decidiendo cómo quieren colaborar con nosotros en el futuro.

photo 1
photo 2
photo 4

photo 3
photo 2

photo 1
photo 3

Guerrero

After years of struggle and security issues, we decided in 2022 to close our project in Guerrero. We were able to implement our pretrial screening instrument to ensure low-risk youth stay in their communities. And we provided support to over 220 youths, as part of our Mobilize and Empower project.

photo 1
photo 2
photo 1
photo 1
photo 1
photo 3
photo 2
photo 4
photo 1
photo 3
photo 3
photo 4

Chiapas

In the state of Chiapas, at the invitation of the state judiciary, we conducted a study to assess the viability of implementing our projects. In 2022, our team presented the results and recommendations. The state government is now deciding how they want to collaborate with us in the future.

photo 1
photo 2
photo 4

photo 3
photo 2

photo 1
photo 3

CDMX

Vista como líder nacional en las prácticas del sistema de justicia, la Ciudad de México tiene más adolescentes en detención que cualquier otra jurisdicción. Sin embargo, también ha desarrollado una unidad de seguimiento en libertad con numerosas alianzas con organizaciones. Nuestros proyectos fortalecerán esta área crítica.

JJI está trabajando en la Ciudad de México desde dos vertientes. En Alternativas a la Detención con un monitoreo que comenzó en 2019, pero por causas sanitarias y la pandemia por COVID, se retomó dos años después con un equipo de especialistas el cual ya está preparándose para continuar la actividad. En Movilizando voluntarios, se continúa con los esfuerzos para reunir a más adolescentes con sus familias, gracias al apoyo: “Reunificación familiar”. Así como también se han realizado entrega de enseres en los 6 centros.

photo 1
photo 2
photo 1
photo 3
photo 2
photo 1
photo 3
photo 3

Durango

A pesar de tener un número menor de adolescentes en el sistema de justicia, Durango es una jurisdicción que busca la mejora continua. Durango es el primer estado donde tanto el poder judicial como el ejecutivo han firmado convenios de colaboración para la implementación de nuestros proyectos de Alternativas a la Detención.

photo 1
photo 2
photo 1

photo 2

photo 1
photo 3
photo 3

Chihuahua

Chihuahua es nuestro sitio piloto y un estado considerado líder en la reforma penal en México. Nuestros proyectos comenzaron en el 2016. Desde entonces, los tiempos en detención preventiva han disminuido, los adolescentes son supervisados con mayor eficiencia en sus comunidades y se ha mejorado la calidad de vida de aquellos adolescentes que siguen privados de su libertad.

En Chihuahua trabajamos con varios proyectos, como son el monitoreo que se trabaja en conjunto con la autoridad, y con los adolescentes y sus familias trabajamos en talleres, mesas de trabajo, eventos lúdicos, acompañamiento post penal, reubicaciones y traslados de familiares para audiencias y visitas, así como donaciones de enseres, ropa y material deportivo.

photo 1
photo 2
photo 3
photo 1
photo 3
photo 2
photo 1
photo 2photo 3

Chihuahua

A national leader in criminal procedural reforms, our pilot project in Chihuahua started in 2016. Since that time the rates and duration of pretrial detention have declined, youth are being successfully supervised in their communities and new programs in the detention center have improved daily life for those children still deprived of liberty.

photo 1
photo 2
photo 3

photo 1
photo 3
photo 2

photo 1
photo 2

photo 3

CDMX

Looked to as the national leader in youth justice practices, Mexico City has more youth in detention than any other jurisdiction but has also developed a robust probation office and numerous alliances with nonprofits. Our projects will further fortify this critical work.

photo 1
photo 2

photo 1
photo 3
photo 2

photo 1
photo 3
photo 3

Durango

Despite being a smaller jurisdiction, Durango is constantly looking to improve. Durango is the first state where both the Executive Branch and Judicial Branch have signed Memorandum of Understanding to launch the Alternatives to Detention initiatives.

photo 1
photo 2

photo 1
photo 3
photo 2

photo 1
photo 3