News & Events
2008 Events
January 25, 2008
El futuro de la enseñanza del derecho: Pedagogía y práctica ante un panorama reformista
Agenda [ PDF (124.40 KB) ]
Co-Sponsored by:
TBI Justice in Mexico Project
Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León
National Center for State Courts
Time: 8:00 AM - 5:15 PM
Location:
Facultad de Derecho y Criminología
Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León
Auditorio Víctor L. Treviño
San Nicolás de los Garza, N.L.
México
Un foro público sobre los retos que enfrenta la educación legal ante la implementación de nuevas modalidades y procedimientos penales pro acusatorios.
January 31, 2008
Los Rostros de México
Acuérdate de Acapulco
Homenaje a Agustín Lara
Por Carlos Monsiváis
Con la participación del Trio Contrapunto
Flyer [ PDF (216.56 KB)]
Co-Sponosred by:
Trans-Border Institute
Consulado General de México en San Diego
Instituto Cultural Mexicano
L.A. Cetto
Wells Fargo Bank
Time:
7:00 - 9:00 PM - Event
9:00 - 10:00 PM - Reception
Location: Mother Rosalie Hill Hall, Room 116
University of San Diego
*Estimated Attendance: 200
February 5, 2008
TBI Intramural Grant Information Session
Organized by: Trans-Border Institute
Time: 12:15 - 1:30 PM
Location: Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice, Room 253
University of San Diego
USD faculty, staff and students were invited to learn about TBI grant opportunities for research or other activites addressing the border relationship between Mexico and the United States. Information provided at the TBI grant information session addressed the TBI grant application and approval process, resources for submitting proposals, and the distribution of grant funds.
February 6, 2008
Cross-Border Media Roundtable
Co-Sponsored by:
Trans-Border Institute
USD Public Relations Department
Time: 8:30 - 11:30 AM
Location: Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice
With the prospect of a new U.S.-Mexico security initiative on the horizon, the continued national debate over immigration and border security, and the strong possibility that Mexico will pass a comprehensive judicial reform package, the coming year promises to keep the border in the headlines. The purpose of this roundtable was to discuss the challenges and nuances associated with reporting along the U.S.-Mexico border. This year special emphasis was placed on recent downsizing of media newsrooms and the proliferation of alternative media outlets focusing on Mexico and the border region.
Estimated Attendance: 25
February 13, 2008
TBI Intramural Grant Information Session
Organized by: Trans-Border Institute
Time: 12:15 - 1:30 PM
Location: Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice, Room 253
University of San Diego
USD faculty, staff and students were invited to learn about TBI grant opportunities for research or other activites addressing the border relationship between Mexico and the United States. Information provided at the TBI grant information session addressed the TBI grant application and approval process, resources for submitting proposals, and the distribution of grant funds.
February 13, 2008
The Closest Mexico to Japan / El México mas Cercano de Japón
Documentary Screening
Co-sponsored by:
Trans-Border Institute
Japan Society of San Diego and Tijuana
Time:
7:00 - 8:20 PM - Event
8:20 - 9:00 PM - Reception
Location: Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice, Theatre and Rotunda
University of San Diego
The short documentary directed and produced by Shinpei Takeda revealed the rather unknown history of the Japanese community in Tijuana that has existed since the 1920s. The documentary weaved the images taken by the first documentary photographer of Tijuana, Kingo Nonaka with testimonials from the first, second and third generations. The documentary also highlighted the history of the post-globalized city of Tijuana by shedding light on stories like the plight of the Japanese community during World War II and the story of contemporary economical and cultural connections between Japan and Mexico.
About the Filmmaker - Shinpei Takeda
Takeda has initiated and conducted participatory photography programs in refugee camps in Thailand, Colombia and San Diego for the last 7 years. He is the co-founder and the creative director of San Diego based NGO, The AJA Project, an international non-profit organization that works with refugee youth using photography and multimedia arts. He is also a documentary filmmaker and journalist and has filmed and written about Japanese Mexicans, Burmese refugees, and Japanese atomic bomb survivors in Latin America. Takeda received B.S. in Geology from Duke University and M.A. in Leadership from University of San Diego.
7:00 - 7:10 pm: Introduction of the film
7:10 - 8:00 pm: Screening
8:00 - 8:20 pm: Question and Answer
8:20 pm: Reception
February 19 - 20, 2008
¿Sorpresas en la economía actual? Globalización, Neoliberalismo y Solidaridad
VIDEOCONFERENCE with Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana
Febrero 19: La globalización: el proceso de transformación a que están sometidas las sociedades humanas en el siglo XXI.
Concepto
Historia y desarrollo
Características
Consecuencias
Ganadores y perdedores
¿Es posible otra globalización?
Febrero 20: La filosofía que subyace al proceso: neoliberalismo.
Libertad para el capital financiero
Los obstáculos de la Doctrina Social de la Iglesia
La oposición al "estado del bienestar"
"El estado no es la solución, el estado es el problema"
Campo libre a los mercados
El liderazgo de los Estados Unidos
Time: 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Joan B. Kroc Insitute for Peace & Justice, Room 226
University of San Diego
March 3, 2008
Book Signing: Fifty Years of Change on the U.S.-Mexico Border: Growth Development, and Quality of Life
Joan B. Anderson
James Gerber
Time: 12:00 - 1:30 PM
Location: Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice building, Room 253
University of San Diego
About the book:
With their unique blend of culture, language, and economics, the US and Mexican border regions have experienced rapid demographic and economic growth over the last fifty years. Economically, the border divides countries with one of the world's largest cross-border income gaps. In as symmetrical a manner as possible, this book studies the nature and dynamics of this growth and what it has meant to the lives of dwellers on both sides of the border.
In this analysis, Joan Anderson and James Gerber offer a new perspective on the changes and tensions pulling at the border from both sides through a discussion of cross-border economic issues and through analytical research that examines not only the dramatic demographic and economic growth of the region, but also shifts in living standards, the changing political climate, and environmental pressures, as well as how these affect the lives of people in the border region.
Creating what they term a Border Human Development Index, the authors rank the quality of life for every US county and Mexican municipio that touches the 2,000-mile border. Using data from six US and Mexican censuses, the book adeptly illustrates disparities in various aspects of economic development between the two coutnries over the last six decades.
Anderson and Gerber make the material accessible ad compelling by drawing an evocative picture of how similar the communities on either side of the border are culturally, yet how divided they are economically. The authors bring a heightened level of insight to border issues not just for academics but also for general readers. The book will be of particular value to individuals interested in how the border between the two countries shapes the debates on quality of life, industrial growth, immigration, cross-border integration and economic and social development.
*Estimated Attendance: 25
March 4, 2008 - Border Film Week
Showing of "Invisible Chapel" - A film by John Carlos Frey
Panel discussion to follow
John Carlos
Frey, Filmmaker
Sr. Barbara Quinn, USD Center for Christian Spirituality
Valerie Lizarraga, USD Student Coordinator of Migrant Outreach
Christauria Welland-Acong, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish
Enrique Morones, Border Angels
Co-Sponsors:
Trans-Border Institute
Catholic Social Thought Committee
Phi Beta Kappa
Social Issues Committee
Center for Christian Spirituality
Time: 12:15 - 2:00 PM
Location: Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice Theatre
University of San Diego
For over twenty years a migrant chapel remained invisible to the wealthy residents of a San Diego, CA neighborhood. Every Sunday, parish volunteers provided humanitarian assistance and held a church service for over one hundred impoverished agricultural, construction, and service industry workers from Mexico. Local neighbors, along with the San Diego Minutemen and a Talk-Radio host clashed with the mostly undocumented immigrant congregation. The ensuing conflict forced the migrants and volunteers out of their sacred space and ultimately caused the demolition of their long- standing place of worship. Filmmaker John Carlos Frey captures the enduring story of faith and perseverance pitted against fear and the heated immigration debate in this beautiful 31 minute documentary film, The Invisible Chapel.
*Estimated Attendance: 150
March 5, 2008 - Border Film Week
Showing of High-Tech High Student Documentaries on the Border
- "History of the US-Mexico Border," by Brianna Blackmon, Rachel Roberts and Melissa Wendell (featuring an interview with Dr. David Shirk)
- "SAL Beyond the Border: A Six Minutes Special," by Austin Harbert, Sharlyn Heinz and Laura Mitchell
- "Hot Topics: Extending the Fence," by Jessica Albarran, Christopher Connell and Guadalupe Melendez
- "Talk the Talk," by Junior Macias and Zara Steinhart (featuring an interview with Enrique Morones)
- "6-8 Minutes: U.S. Economic Dependency on Migrant Workers," by Ryan Curtice, Austin Jones and Jan-Nathan Milan
- "Working Class Heroes: The Lives of Migrant Workers," by Vanessa Figueroa, Nicolette Harris and Mari Jacobson (featuring an interview with Enrique Morones)
Panel discussion to follow
Co-Sponsors:
Trans-Border Institute
Social Issues Committee
Center for Christian Spirituality
Time: 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Location: Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice, Conference Room I
University of San Diego
*Estimated Attendance: 60
March 6, 2008 - Border Film Week
Showing of "Beyond Borders: The Debate Over Human Migration" - A film by Brian Ging
Panel discussion to follow
Simon Burrow, Producer
Brian Ging, Director
Dave Szamet, Producer
Co-Sponsors:
Trans-Border Institute
Social Issues Committee
Center for Christian Spirituality
Time: 6:00 - 7:30 PM
Location: Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice Theatre
University of San Diego
Beyond Borders moves past the headlines and takes an in-depth look at the hot-button issues of legal and illegal immigration. Beyond Borders explores the psychological forces driving the immigration controversy from both sides of the debate. Anti-immigration activists demand we stop this "illegal alien invasion," while some pro-immigration forces speak of a Reconquista, a reclaiming of the American Southwest by Mexico. In search of a middle ground, Beyond Borders travels across the U.S. and beyond to give voices to those on the front-line of this issue, including candid interviews with Border Patrol agents, radio celebrities, demographers, the Minute Men, potential migrants, and a host of experts including Noam Chomsky (Distorted Morality) and Gustavo Arellano (Ask A Mexican). Beyond Borders is an entertaining and enlightening film that asks: Is migration a basic human right?
*Estimated Attendance: 175
March 6, 2008
La reforma penal en México: Experiencias en el Estado de Chihuahua y su perspectiva nacional.
Co-Sponsors:
TBI Justice in Mexico Project
Centro de Investigación para el Desarrollo, AC (CIDAC)
Supremo Tribunal de Justicia del Estado de Chihuahua
Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Location:
Auditorio del Supremo Tribunal de Justicia "David Gongóra Pimentel"
Chihuahua, CHIH.
Mexico
March 7, 2008 - Border Film Week
The Closest Mexico to Japan / El México mas Cercano de Japón
Documentary Screening
Time:
12:15 - 1:00 PM
Location: Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice, Theatre
University of San Diego
The short documentary directed and produced by Shinpei Takeda reveals the rather unknown history of the Japanese community in Tijuana that has existed since the 1920s. The documentary weaves the images taken by the first documentary photographer of Tijuana, Kingo Nonaka with testimonials from the first, second and the third generations. The documentary also highlights the history of the post-globalized city of Tijuana by shedding light on stories like the plight of the Japanese community during World War II and the story of contemporary economical and cultural connections between Japan and Mexico.
*Estimated Attendance: 200
March 13, 2008
Laboratorio de Exploración en la Literatura Dramática
Location:Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice building
University of San Diego
Co-sponsored by:
Trans-Border Institute
San Diego State University
Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana
Al finalizar el Laboratorio de Exploración de la Literatura Dramática, los participantes:
Afinaron su sensibilidad y su imaginación creadoras en el estudio y el ejercicio escritural del género dramático.
Desarrollaron las destrezas requeridas para el análisis de textos literarios e incrementaron su capacidad crítica, mediante la lectura analítica y la elaboración de textos dramáticos.
Reconocieron la naturaleza y función de los elementos constitutivos de una obra dramática por medio del análisis de textos selectos, así como de trabajos producidos por participantes y sobre todo a través la elaboración de un texto dramático.
Enriquecieron su experiencia cultural binacional transfronteriza, por medio de la interacción personal, mediante las dinámicas del taller y la colaboración en proyectos comunes futuros.
March 27, 2008
Reading and Book Signing by Helena María Viramontes
Flyer [ PDF (114.72 KB) ]
Time: 2:30 PM
Location: Salomon Hall, located in Maher Hall
University of San Diego
Co-sponsored by: USD Department of English and the Trans-Border Institute
The USD Department of English and the Trans-Border Institute welcomed nationally acclaimed Chicana author Helena María Viramontes to USD on Thursday, March 27th. She read from her latest novel Their Dogs Came With Them in Salomon Hall, located in Maher Hall, at 2:30 p.m. She was available after the reading to sign books.
Helena María Viramontes is the author of The Moths and Other Stories (1985) and Under the Feet of Jesus (1995), a novel. Her most recent novel, Their Dogs Came with Them, just published by Atria Books, focuses on the dispossessed, the working poor, the homeless, and the undocumented of East Los Angeles, where Viramontes was born and raised. Her work strives to recreate the visceral sense of a world virtually unknown to mainstream letters and to transform readers through relentlessly compassionate storytelling.
If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Rubén Murillo at rmurillo@sandiego.edu or (619) 260-2768.
*Estimated Attendance: 130
April 1, 2008
The Gospel of Cesar Chavez Flyer [ PDF (149.54 KB) ]
Lecture by Professor Mario T. Garcia, University of California, Santa Barbara
Co-Sponsored by:
Trans-border Institute
The President's Advisory Board on Inclusion and Diversity
Catholic Social Teaching Transition Committee
Department of Sociology
Ethnic Studies Program
Time:
6:00 - 8:00 PM
RECEPTION TO FOLLOW
Location: Salomon Hall in Maher Hall
University of San Diego
Mario T. Garcia is professor of history and Chicano studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is
the author of several books on Mexican-American leaders, including "Mexican Americans: Leadership, Ideology
and Identity, 1930-1960".
Come witness the unveiling of the San Diego High - CIMA - USD Ethnic Studies CIVIL RIGHTS Mural.
Come Discover and Learn about Faith Communities and Social Justice.
April 3, 2008
Immigration Discussion Forum
Flyer [ PDF (29.71 KB) ]
Co-Sponsored by:
Trans-border Institute
Pi Sigma Alpha
Time:
7:00 PM
Location: Joan B. Kroc Theatre
University of San Diego
Pi Sigma Alpha, the Political Science Honors Society, partnered with the
TransBorder Institute to sponsor a discussion on immigration issues. Political
science professor Pete Nunez and the TBI director Dr. David Shirk provided presentations.
*Estimated Attendance: 105
April 21, 2008
Justice in Mexico:
Evaluating National and Local Initiatives
Time:
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Location: Joan B. Kroc Theatre
University of San Diego
This conference provided a unique and timely opportunity for international and Mexican scholars, attorneys, civil society representatives, and public officials, among others, to analyze the prospects for criminal justice reform in Mexico. The timing of the conference coincided with pending Mexican federal legislation that will replace the country's predominantly inquisitorial justice model with an accusatorial system more consonant with international standards and practices. The conference was among the first of its kind in the United States to examine the promises and challenges that these landmark reforms will hold for Mexico, a nation whose democratic transition largely hinges on its ability to instill deep public confidence in its courts and police. The conference offered opportunities for forward-thinking analyses and policy suggestions for the effective implementation of reform.
The program was structured around three keynote speeches that correspond to three core components of the "rule of law": order, accountability, and access to justice.
*Estimated Attendance: 225
May 5, 2008
12th Annual Sister Sally Furay Lecture:
Environment and Labor Relations in the San Diego/Tijuana Border Region
Co-sponsored by:
Trans-Border Institute
Social Issues Committee
Time:
6:00 PM - LECTURE
7:00 PM - RECEPTION
Location: Joan B. Kroc Theatre
University of San Diego
Keynote Speaker:
Hon. Lori Saldaña
Assemblywoman, 76th District
California State Assembly
Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña spoke about the environment and labor relations at the border, and what the upcoming presidential election will portend for this binational region.
*Estimated Attendance: 95
June 17 - 18, 2008
Human Rights Workshop: Abuses at the Border
Co-sponsored by:
Trans-Border Institute
ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties
ACLU Human Rights Program
Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos, México
Location: Joan B. Kroc Theatre
University of San Diego
*Estimated Attendance: 100
August 18, 2008
Drug Violence, Public Security, and the Rule of Law in Mexico
Dr. Dante Haro Reyes
Coordinador del Consejo Editorial de la Revista Jurídica Jaliscience
Universidad de Guadalajara
Date: Monday, August 18, 2008
Time: 12:00 - 2:00 pm
Location: Joan B. Kroc building, Conference Rooms B & C
Free and open to the public
*Estimated Attendance: 55
August 27, 2008
Los Rostros de México
La Imagen del Arte Mexicano
De los Olmecas a Nuestros Días
with Gregorio Luke
$15.00 general admission
$10.00 students
free for USD students
Co-sponsored by:
Trans-Border Institute
Consulado General de México en San Diego
Instituto Cultural de México
Wells Fargo Bank
L.A. Cetto
Time: 7:00 - 8:00 pm, followed by a reception
Location: Joan B. Kroc Theatre
University of San Diego
An illustrated lecture about 3,000 years of Mexican art. From Mayan and Aztec creations to the work of internationally acclaimed modern artists such as Jose Maria Velasco, Jose Guadalupe Posada, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Rufino Tamayo among others.
Un viaje por el arte mexicano a través de cientos de imágenes. Gregorio Luke nos revela desde la magia y misterios de la cultura Maya hasta las creaciones de reconocidos artistas del México moderno como José María Velasco, José Guadalupe Posada, David Alfaro Siqueiros y Rufino Tamayo, entre otros. Una síntesis con ilustraciones fascinantes y una narrativa extraordinaria en esta presentación panorámica de nuestra cultura.
*Estimated Attendance: 120
September 17, 2008
Book Presentation: Illegal People: How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants
by David Bacon
Time: 2:30 - 4:00 pm
Location: Joan B. Kroc building, Room 253
University of San Diego
David Bacon presented his most recent book titled Illegal People: How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants.
In Illegal People Bacon explores the human side of globalization, exposing the many ways it uproots people in Latin America and Asia, driving them to migrate. At the same time, U.S. immigration policy makes the labor of those displaced people a crime in the United States. Illegal People explains why our national policy produces even more displacement, more migration, more immigration raids, and a more divided, polarized society.
*Estimated Attendance: 70
October 7, 2008
Enrique Morones, Border Angels
Presented by:
Social Issues Committee
as part of the 19th Annual Social Issues Conference: Inspiring Social Change through Education
Time: 6:00 - 7:00 pm
Location: UC Forum A & B
University of San Diego
Enrique Morones spoke about his experience and role as a local immigrants' rights activist, the history and background of the non-profit organization known as Border Angels, and how his experience at USD shaped his career path.. Border Angels is recognized as being one of the most active and prominent human rights organizations in the country. Mr. Morones also emphasized the importance of education in promoting and accomplishing effective social change. Raising awareness about comprehensive and humane immigration reform is one of the most important topics facing the upcoming presidential election. He highlighted the power of one and how all citizens can make a difference, citing several powerful examples.
*Estimated Attendance: 75
October 17, 2008
Citizen Diplomacy Council Media Roundtable
Co-sponsored by:
Citizen Diplomacy Council of San Diego
Time: 9:00 - 11:30 am
Location: Joan B. Kroc Building, Conference Room D
University of San Diego
TBI hosted a roundtable discussion with journalists from the Middle East and northern Africa, local media representatives from San Diego and Tijuana, and USD faculty. Attendees gained a comparative perspective on the challenges associated with border reporting in the regions represented, as well as topics that are specifically associated with border regions, including immigration and drug and arms trafficking.
*Estimated Attendance: 30
October 20, 2008
Immigration Policy and the European Union
Speaker:
Dr. Juan Antonio Cebrián de Miguel
Instituto de Economía, Geografía y Demografía
Madrid, Spain
Time: 4:00 - 5:30 pm
Location:Joan B. Kroc building, Conference Rooms A & B
University of San Diego
There were 370 million people within the European Union in 1997. Among them, 18 million were foreigners, roughly the 4.8% of the total population. Ten years later, there are 25 million foreigners in the EU (i.e. 5% of the aggregate population in the domain). These foreigners are settled mainly in five specific countries: Germany (7.2 million), Spain (4.6), France (3.5), UK (3) and Italy (2.4).
For the period 1990-2007, with the only exception of Latvia, every European country has seen its foreign population steadily growing. In some countries the growth has been breathtaking, as in Spain which only follows Germany in total immigrants.
The focus of this presentation was on the immigration process, its main factors, and the consequences for the European population and culture, with an emphasis on the Spanish case.
October 22 - 23, 2008
CHILDREN IN NO MAN’S LAND
Film Screening
Co-Sponsored by:
Sociology, AKD Sociological Honor Society, Ethnic Studies, Associated Students, MECHA, ACHA, Transborder Institute
PABID
Time:
6:00 - 8:00 PM
Location:
Manchester Conference Center: Room 206 A&B
University of San Diego
Featured Speakers:
Director & Producer: Anayansi Prado
Derechos Humanos Arizona Program Director: Kat Rodriguez
Children In No Man's Land is a documentary that uncovers the current plight of the 100,000 unaccompanied minors entering the United States every year. This film gives this timely political debate about the U.S.-Mexico border a human face by exploring the story of Maria de Jesus (13) and her cousin Rene (12) as they attempt to cross the U.S./Mexico border alone to reunite with their mothers in the Midwest. Focusing on minors crossing through the Sonora Desert area in Nogales, Arizona, this film explores every detail of these children's journey as well as the journeys of other children we meet on the way. We uncover in an intimate and personal way where they are coming from, what their journeys have been like and how they've gone about it, through to the arrival at their destination their new home, the United States of America.
November 4, 2008
Information Session, Border Studies Seminar
Time: 12:15 - 1:30 pm
Location: Joan B. Kroc building, Room 253
University of San Diego
The Trans-Border Insitute held an information sesseion on the Border Seminar Studies program coordinated by the Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana and TBI. The Border Seminar Studies program is held every summer and TBI will offer partial scholarships to USD students for 2009. The information session provided information on the dates of the program, the application process, requirements, and the curriculum.
November 18, 2008
Book Presentation: La Ruptura que Viene
By Porfirio Muñoz Ledo
Time: 8:30 - 11:30 am
Location: Joan B. Kroc Building, Room H
University of San Diego
Porfirio Muñoz Ledo ha sido presidente del PRI y del PRD; secretario del Trabajo y de Educación Pública; embajador ante la Organización de las Naciones Unidas y la Unión Europea; diputado y senador. Actualmente es coordinador del Frente Amplio Progresista (FAP), que agrupa a los partidos de la Revolución Democrática, del Trabajo y Convergencia.
Actor fundamental en la vida política mexicana, su visión republicana de izquierda lo ha convertido en un protagonista de la transición democrática desde distintas trincheras: como tribuno, diplomático, líder partidista, funcionario público, jurista, articulista, ensayista, y escritor. Es en este ultimo aspecto donde se concentran su experiencia, inteligencia, conocimientos y sensibilidad: una lucidez reconocida por afines y contrarios, plasmada en textos como Discursos de partido 1975-1976; Compromisos; La sociedad frente al poder: debates parlamentarios 1989-1991; Sueño originario y proyecto de Nación: mensajes partidarios; Por una nueva Constitución y Sumario de una izquierda republicana.
December 8, 2008
Border Politics and Security from Northern Mexico to Southern Colombia
Caesar Sereseres
Professor of Political Science
University of California at Irvine
PPT Presentation [ PDF (1.02 MB) ]
Organized by:
Trans-Border Institute
Department of Political Science
Time: 2:30 - 4:00 PM
Location: Joan B. Kroc Building, Conference Room A
University of San Diego
December 9, 2008
TBI Intramural Grant Information Session
Organized by: Trans-Border Institute
Time: 12:15 - 1:30 PM
Location: Joan B. Kroc Building, Room 253
University of San Diego
USD faculty, staff and students were invited to learn about TBI grant opportunities for Fiscal Year 2009-10 for research or other activities addressing the border relationship between Mexico and the United States. Information provided at the TBI grant information session addressed the TBI grant application and approval process, submission criteria, and budget and financial requirements.
December 11, 2008
Detention Center Accountability and Oversight: Roundtable Discussion
Time: 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Location:
Joan B. Kroc Building, Manchester Boardroom 226
University of San Diego
Co-sponsored by:
Trans-Border Institute
ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties
Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos
9:00 am – Welcome and Introductions
9:45 am – Statement of the Problem
Immigration detention centers in the US routinely violate the human rights of detainees. When detention
centers are run by private companies, as they are in San Diego and elsewhere, there is little governmental
oversight and it is difficult for detainees and their advocates to hold anyone accountable. As a result,
immigrant detainees from Mexico and beyond are vulnerable to abuse.
10:00 am – Moderated discussion of possible domestic strategies to increase oversight and accountability;
invited insight from Mexican perspective
- Propose codification of ICE Detention Standards (currently not binding) in federal regulations.
- Support pending federal legislation that increases accountability and minimizes use of detention for asylum seekers.
- Create a permanent domestic oversight entity (similar to a police citizen review board) that includes seats for human rights organizations such as was created in temporary form in the early 1990s by executive order of the President.
- Build a grassroots-grasstops campaign that calls for greater domestic oversight.
1:00 pm – Moderated discussion of possible international strategies to increase oversight and accountability Use existing international oversight mechanisms to raise awareness through UN special rappateurs charged with reporting on condition of human rights, migrants, and detainees.
- Encourage Mexico as a state party to the ICCPR to file a complaint against the US based on treatment of its citizens in detention. Alternatively, encourage the new US president to sign the first optional protocol to the ICCPR (US is already signatory to the treaty) which would allow non-state parties (such as domestic NGOs or private individuals) to file a complaint against the US (this has been effective in Western Europe).
- Build a cross-border documentation project to document abuses at US detention centers. It is extremely difficult to get information from detainees while they are detained, but a network of attorneys and human rights organizations with access to detainees in the US and Mexico after they are deported could capture valuable information.
