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Sgt Killjoy
Joined: 26 Jun 2004
Posts: 438
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 Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 11:26 pm Post subject: |
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| It sounds to me like "Paul" wasn't the brightest crayon in the box. Of course, one could argue that "Paul" assumed his sister-in-law was in Mexico legally and/or that he didn't know it was against the law to transport an illegal. Pleading ignorance of the law usually doesn't quite cut it though, does it? |
Dead on, but what does the Mexican government always tell the US government when the US is trying to enforce immi law? No one would guess that Mexico has such draconian laws, would they? Heck, most of you here think it is impossible to go to jail if you ain't got a visa here, ain't that what ls and guy are saying?
"Paul" , his wife and baby were arrested. The sister was deported after her statement was taken. Paul was stuck in a jail in Tapachula, so was his wife in the women's prison that is adjacent to the men's prison in Tapachula. Where did the baby go? In prison with the wife. Where did the rental car go? To the impound lot where it continued to rack up daily charges...for how long? 8 months.
"Paul" was in jail for 8 months. "Paul" was acquitted of all charges. Me? Well, aint that for another time and another place? |
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M@tt
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 473
Location: here and there
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| Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 6:08 am Post subject: |
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this is a really interesting thread, i hope it stays alive for awhile. i kind of feel like i'm watching a flashback on Lost about Sawyer's life before the island.
has anyone else been jailed in mexico? |
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Sgt Killjoy
Joined: 26 Jun 2004
Posts: 438
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| Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 6:53 am Post subject: |
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| yeah, I was in jail in Mexico for six days, but maybe that is worth its own thread......... |
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MELEE
Joined: 22 Jan 2003
Posts: 2583
Location: The Mexican Hinterland
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| Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 2:56 pm Post subject: |
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I've been to a jail in Mexico. The inmates make the nicest hammacas and sell them cheap!  |
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Sgt Killjoy
Joined: 26 Jun 2004
Posts: 438
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| Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 3:06 pm Post subject: |
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They are very enterprising places......you are right about the stuff you can buy there in the jails.
There is even jail to jail commerce, in fact once a week, single female prisoners could get a pass to visit the male prison. |
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Ben Round de Bloc
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1946
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| Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 6:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Are you guys using jail and prison as synonyms? In Merida, they aren't the same. |
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ls650
Joined: 10 May 2003
Posts: 3484
Location: British Columbia
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| Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 7:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Sgt Killjoy wrote: |
| most of you here think it is impossible to go to jail if you ain't got a visa here, ain't that what ls and guy are saying? |
Mmm, not exactly. I wrote, "I find it hard to believe. I can't see the Mexican gov't bothering to keep them in jail for long; it's too expensive!" That's not quite the same thing as saying it's "impossible to go to jail", though I could see how you might read it that way.
Unfortunately I have to say I'm still not convinced that you're right. So far the only evidence we've seen are a couple of anecdotes; your claim still seems a bit shaky to me.
Pardon me for being a bit of a skeptic; if you have any more evidence I'm more than willing to admit you may be right. |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 10:54 pm Post subject: |
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I said impossible, so I'll back off on that and say very very highly unlikely, especially since we were talking about the OP's situation in which I make the following assumptions:
1. He is not stupid enough to be carrying drugs or a crate full of Hondurans when he visits migra or the airport
2. He will behave with migra officials
3. He will take care of the issue in Guadalajara or Cancun, neither of which is a border area
Of course, if my assumptions are wrong, then jail, prison, the tank, the Dropped Soap Hotel - call it what you will - becomes a likelier possibility. |
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Sgt Killjoy
Joined: 26 Jun 2004
Posts: 438
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| Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 11:13 pm Post subject: |
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| Ben Round de Bloc wrote: |
| Are you guys using jail and prison as synonyms? In Merida, they aren't the same. |
Yeah we are, but how right you are. Jail is those couple of cells in the police station. I spent two days there. Prison is the very large building that houses a lot more people and holds people for longer periods. I spent 4 days there.
In reality, they both serve the same function, to keep you locked up. I preferred the prison over the jail. |
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scottmx81
Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 64
Location: Morelia, Mexico.
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| Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 12:27 am Post subject: |
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For those who are in doubt, read through this website thoroughly:
http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/runforyourlife/index.html
I saw the documentary on TV, and it was very interesting.
I don't doubt for a minute that very significant numbers of undocumented foreigners are being regularly detained and deported from Mexico. But usually they aren't white. I always carry my Canadian driver's license as ID at all times, even when walking a couple of blocks to the corner store, after having read about what happens to undocumented Central Americans. I have been stopped and asked for ID by police officers while out at night. It has never happened during the day unless I was in a vehicle, but I would advise carrying some sort of identification when out and about after midnight or so. I think you're asking for trouble if you don't.
Here is another link that some might find interesting that came up in my search to provide a source for citing Mexico as having or constructing the largest immigration detention center in the Americas:
http://www.hispanicvista.com/HVC/Opinion/Guest_Columns/122705Dguest.htm
That was result #5 in a search for:
tapachula immigration largest "detention center" "latin america"
on Google. There are many, many articles out there confirming the treatment of illegal non-American/Canadians in Mexico. Best to always carry ID so as not to be confused with one of these personas non-grata and be deported to Guatemala. |
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scottmx81
Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 64
Location: Morelia, Mexico.
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| Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 12:54 am Post subject: |
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Anyone visiting Mexico pays the $21 usd fee, unless you stay within the border zone between the US and Mexico. Did you know that Mexicans also pay such a fee to enter Canada?
Mexicans do not pay such a fee to visit Canada on a visa waiver. There is no tourist card or I-94, just a stamp in their passport. |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 2:25 am Post subject: |
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| Yeah, I made an error on that too. It's an airport tax and not actually a visa cost. Everyone pays it equally. |
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Ben Round de Bloc
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1946
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| Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 2:28 pm Post subject: |
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| Sgt Killjoy wrote: |
Yeah we are, but how right you are. Jail is those couple of cells in the police station. I spent two days there. Prison is the very large building that houses a lot more people and holds people for longer periods. I spent 4 days there.
In reality, they both serve the same function, to keep you locked up. I preferred the prison over the jail. |
In Merida jail is far more than a couple of cells in the police station. One huge difference is that if a person is held in jail for less than 72 hours and released, it doesn't go on his "antecedentes" record, so he's able to provide his "antecedentes de no penales" when applying for jobs. Not the case if he spends even a few days in prison, however. |
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saraswati
Joined: 30 Mar 2004
Posts: 200
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| Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 4:43 pm Post subject: |
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| Sgt Killjoy wrote: |
| Jail is those couple of cells in the police station. I spent two days there. |
Police stations don't have jails. They have "separos," which in Merida is a locked room with A/C, TV and a filthy bathroom. I spent nine hours in it and I was allowed to keep my belongings which included my cell phone and more importantly, antibacterial gel. There was also a sliding window where I could talk to my lawyer. I hardly call that jail. The law is that after 72 hours in "separos," you then get a free ride over to the jail.
A word to the wise...never ever ever have a car accident with the police. YOU will always be blamed for it. Oh...and the only reason I was in "separos" so long was that the cop started whining, saying he was hurt, and it took that long to cut a deal with him. |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 5:06 pm Post subject: |
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| never ever ever have a car accident with the police. |
Do you mean that a police car was the other party to the accident? Had that happen once with an off-duty federale once. Not a pretty scene. None of us went to jail even though I pushed the cop around a bit. The drunk federale should have spent some time in the tank though. |
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