Partners for Repatriation: CCA Helps Mexican Nationals Prepare for Successful Return to Homeland

A great deal of attention has been paid to the challenges created by the growing number of illegal immigrants in this country, including their impact on the U.S. corrections system. But what has not been as widely discussed is how to solve those problems. The issue is bigger than just keeping illegal immigrants out of U.S. jails. The issue is how to make sure that once they are released and deported, they do not try to re-enter the United States illegally.

There are currently tens of thousands of undocumented Mexican immigrants in U.S. correctional facilities. When these inmates are released and deported back to Mexico, they have an ever smaller chance at success than they did before, and the great majority simply attempts to cross the border again in search of a better life. It’s a cycle that strains an already overburdened correctional system at the expense of American taxpayers.

Finding a Solution Educational and vocational programs have long been offered to help inmates learn a skill, get a diploma, and be more employable when they are released and less likely to return to prison. The same approach can and should be taken to stem the rates of illegal re-entry into the country. However, finding the right curriculum and method of teaching Spanish-speaking, Mexican immigrants has been challenging.

Six years ago, the Cibola Correctional Center in New Mexico raised these issues with Corrections Corporation of America. The inmate population at Cibola is 95 percent Mexican, with some Latin American nationals, and teaching inmates courses in English and giving American certifications were not helping this population when they returned home. Cibola wanted to find a better alternative for providing illegal immigrants with educational and job-training programs.

Officials from CCA met with government officials from the National Institute of Adult Education (INEA) in Mexico City to find a solution. CCA and the Mexican government worked together to build upon Mexico’s education program to create one tailored to Mexican national inmates in the United States that would better educate and train them to ensure that, once they were released, they would have the education and skills they needed to be successful in their home country. Giving these individuals the tools to succeed in their native land seemed to offer a practical solution and would therefore decrease their likelihood of illegally re-entering the United States.

As a result of the meetings, the Mexican National Education Program was formed with a goal to provide educational and vocational preparation for Mexican nationals geared toward eventual placement in meaningful, stable jobs and to help them to return to their native country drug-free, literate and skilled in positions needed in their work force.

How the Program Works INEA supplies the facility with materials and national curriculum for the primaria level (grades 1-6) and secundaria level (grades 7-9). Once the inmates receive secundaria certificates, the Colegio de Bachilleres, or Cobach, provides curriculums for the preparatoria level (grades 10-12 and/or GED). CECATI, the Center for Qualification of Industrial Work, provides certificates to inmates for vocational courses. Classes are taught in Spanish by instructors and inmate tutors, who are trained and certified by INEA. Vocational classes, also taught in Spanish, emphasize skills related to industries in Mexico with great demand, such as carpentry, computer, electrical, masonry, maintenance and plumbing. Classes focus not only on technical knowledge, but also on professional career skills such as business management and self-employment.

Because drug-related offenses can be high among the inmate population, substance abuse treatment is offered, using CCA’s therapeutic community model. There is also a faith-based program on applied basic life principles which guides inmates to a better lifestyle. The combination of programs is extremely powerful, and it affects inmates on many levels – mentally, spiritually, intellectually and physically. The programs help enrich the lives of inmates and give them a way to stay with their families and communities and to make a living. As these individuals become viable, productive citizens in their home country, the need to return to the United States illegally is tremendously reduced.

Challenge Solution How do I develop and maintain relationships with applicable entities to make the program work? The closest Mexican Consulate office is the best contact for ensuring all partners work together. What qualities should I look for in a staff member to oversee the program? Find staff members who are fluent in Spanish, have an understanding of Mexican culture, and have the desire to teach. A full-time staff member is preferable, but not required. How do I train inmate tutors and staff to implement the program? Representatives from INEA can come to your facility and conduct a brief and effective training. How much time is needed to implement the program? Facilities should anticipate the staff and time for diagnostic testing, maintenance of records required by Mexico for issuing documentation, and obtaining books for Mexican education programs. How do I grow a dynamic Mexican education program? Expand the program beyond academics to a more comprehensive vocational and career training.

Where the Program Is Today Today, the Mexican National Education Program has proliferated to serve the needs of offenders in other CCA facilities across the country. CCA now offers the program in six of its facilities: California City Correctional Center in California, Cibola County Correctional Center in New Mexico, Crowley Correctional Center in Colorado, Diamondback Correctional Facility in Oklahoma, Eden Detention Center in Texas and the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center in Ohio.

Several of the facilities have expanded the program to offer Mexican technical high school degrees, as well as academic high school diplomas, and university degrees through long-distance learning and continuing educational courses in pre-law and business.

CCA has given a total of 2,000 primaria, secundaria and preparatoria certificates since the program began and has taught more than 200 inmates how to read and write. In the fall, nearly 600 Mexican inmates at the Cibola County Correctional Center received their certificates. Mexican government officials attended the ceremony to honor the inmates and celebrate the program’s success.

“The inmates enrolled in the programs are bright, motivated individuals who crossed the border in search of better opportunities,” said Juan Solana, consul with the Mexican Consulate in Albuquerque. “Education transforms their lives. It provides a better values system, promotes positive behavior and gives the inmates new goals and objectives.”

“While incarcerated, the inmates have the time and interest to do the studying, and the facility has the resources and dedication. Education gives them the tools required to find good jobs. Once the inmates get their high school diplomas, their earning power can jump five to 10 times so that they can make a good living in Mexico,” he added.

CCA’s California City Correctional Center also launched the Mexican National Education Program six years ago, and today nearly 800 inmates are enrolled. Inmates participating in the program live in a separate pod that is set up like a school – in an environment where they can focus on their studies. Inmates are dedicated to their coursework and are in class from 7:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., five days a week.

“Meaningful academic opportunities are good for inmates and correctional organizations,” said Charles DeRosa, warden of the California City Correctional Center. “Besides helping the inmates become more productive citizens, the program is an effective management tool for keeping offenders occupied with positive pursuits during the time they are here. The number of incidents is much lower among the inmates who are involved in productive activities.”

The program has had such a profound impact that the Mexican government has expanded it to non-CCA facilities. Today, nearly 5,000 Mexican national inmates are enrolled in the program in 32 facilities in 14 states. The program is also expanding to other countries. The Mexican government is working with other countries in Central and South America to offer inmates from those countries who are incarcerated in U.S. prisons the same opportunities.

After Inmates Are Released When the inmates have completed their sentences and go home to Mexico, many choose to contact INEA, Colegio de Bachilleres and CECATI to continue their educations. Those inmates with Mexican diplomas are getting good-paying jobs in advanced fields, and they are prime candidates for jobs with foreign national corporations located in Mexico.

The program is a win-win for the United States, Mexico, immigrants and their families, and taxpayers. Thanks to the program, Mexico is reclaiming thousands of valuable citizens who are an important part of its labor force and who can contribute to its present and future economic needs.

Tracking Success Tracking the success of inmate programs has always been challenging, and exact numbers are not always available. However, the Mexican government has received a tremendous amount of positive feedback from inmates who have been released and are working in Mexico.

“Many inmates have written or called to let us know that through the education they received in prison, they had the chance to know a different world,” said Patricia Ramos Mendez, INEA’s director for international programs. “Every time I visit a correctional center, inmates tell me that if they had had the opportunity to be educated when they were younger, they would not be incarcerated.”

Miguel Gallareta Negrón, INEA’s regional coordinator for international programs, also said many inmates have thanked him. One inmate recently told him he was working at a bank and couldn’t have gotten that job without the education he received in prison.

“Many inmate tutors have also told me what a rewarding experience teaching was, as they found a positive leadership by supporting other inmates’ educations,” Ramos added. “It was terrible for them to be in prison, but they took advantage of their time there. They made a difference in their own lives and in the lives of others. It is powerful to think that with education, you can be a real leader and have a different chance at life.”

Getting Started Implementing an all-new curriculum for foreign nationals is not easy. CCA, the Mexican government and facility staff had to address long-standing company policies and contract requirements to make the necessary changes.

CCA’s Northeast Ohio Correctional Center recently began the process of establishing its own program. First, the facility contacted the local Mexican Consulate for assistance. Next, the staff identified the number of inmates eligible and interested in the program. Each inmate had to be surveyed to determine the level of education they required. The facility then scheduled training for the staff and inmate tutors. Representatives from INEA conducted a short, intensive training to review the materials; teach the methodology for educating adults; and explain the testing process, how to obtain certifications, fill out paperwork, etc. Once the program began, a program coordinator at the facility made sure the program was on track and helped the inmates earn their certificates.

Conclusion The Mexican National Education Program is attainable in any facility. Facilities can implement this program at no extra cost to the U.S. corrections system, thanks to the strong partnership and resources the Mexican government provides. This program is a long-term commitment and is aimed at producing a long-term solution. The program is succeeding because it addresses the root of the problem for repeat offenders who cross the borders illegally.

Corrections organizations must be flexible to adapt to the changing populations in America and in prisons. The industry must continue to offer the most effective programming for inmates, and those programs must be applicable and meaningful to the populations they serve.

Education that specifically targets the needs of illegal aliens and helps them to be productive citizens in their native countries is an approach to a growing national problem that all facilities should consider. And all that’s needed to get started is a call to the local Mexican Consulate in their area.