Travel Abroad Warnings and Keeping Your Institution Informed
Gary Rhodes
Associate Dean, International Education & Senior International Officer,
College of Extended & International Education
Director, Center for Global Education
California State University at Dominguez Hills
U.S. Department of State Travel Warnings: Study Abroad in Mexico - To Go or Not to Go
As faculty and staff promoting study abroad participation, we regularly deal with the question of which programs are safe and which are not. When making a decision from an institutional standpoint, it is critical to use a variety of information resources to best inform ourselves. It is also key that we take advantage of the other experts on our campuses to provide guidance when developing programs, reviewing existing programs, or reviewing proposals from faculty and staff across campus on where to go and where not to go. Whether it is an environmental challenge like the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear power plant in Japan or political unrest as recently seen in Turkey or Egypt, university faculty and staff must keep current with safety situations around the world and respond effectively.
As U.S. based colleges, universities, or study abroad providers, the U.S. Department of State Travel Warning is a critical information resource to use when deciding to allow programs to take place. According to the U.S. Department of State, the definition of a Travel Warning is:
Travel Warnings are issued when long-term, protracted conditions that make a country dangerous or unstable lead the State Department to recommend that Americans avoid or consider the risk of travel to that country. A Travel Warning is also issued when the U.S. Government's ability to assist American citizens is constrained due to the closure of an embassy or consulate or because of a drawdown of its staff (https://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_1764.html).
When the SAFETI Clearinghouse first started in 1998, Travel Warnings provided a clearer message to colleges and universities. The guidance was generally if the U.S. Department of State issued a Travel Warning for a Country, don’t send students there. At that time, Travel Warnings were written in a way where the language was strong about the entire country. However, since that time, Travel Warning language has changed. The content includes more detail about the specific concerns about different aspects of safety in a country. One of the most important areas of detail in more recent travel warnings are geographical distinctions within a country or areas within a given country that are particularly unsafe. As a result, more and more institutions are looking at U.S. Department of State Travel Warnings along with other security information to determine not just whether or not to go, but whether there are cities/regions within a country that would be safe and limiting programs to those locations within a country where a Travel Warning is in place.
Since 1998, I have seen some U.S. colleges and universities consistently maintain programs, others discontinue programs, and others stop and restart programs based on their review of the conditions related to the location of these programs. While U.S. institutions may stop and start programs, Mexican universities have consistently continued their operations and continue to be enthusiastic about hosting U.S. college and university students on their campuses. We believe that it is critical for U.S. colleges and universities to better understand the situation in Mexico and engage in dialogues with State Department representatives, Mexican university representatives, as well as other U.S. university programs operating in Mexico to get a better understanding of the situation and make appropriate decisions for program operations. In line with this need for a better understanding of safety in Mexico, we are supporting the upcoming OSAC, U.S. Department of State International Study Abroad Safety Workshop in Mexico City on Monday, August 26th. Presenters will include representatives from all these groups. Following the program on Tuesday morning, attendees will have the opportunity to attend an OSAC Country Council meeting where RSOs from the U.S. Embassy and all U.S. consulates across Mexico will be available to provide their feedback.
Making the Institutional Decision about Study Abroad and Other Institutional Travel to Mexico
The case for traveling or not traveling to Mexico is an important one within this context. While the U.S. Department of State has a Travel Warning for Mexico, the language within the Travel Warning makes it clear that they don’t suggest that U.S. citizens don’t travel to Mexico. In fact, they are clear about the large number of U.S. citizens who cross the border into Mexico each day and how U.S. citizens are not targeted in Mexico:
Millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year for study, tourism, and business, including more than 150,000 who cross the border every day. More than 20 million U.S. citizens visited Mexico in 2012. The Mexican government makes a considerable effort to protect U.S. citizens and other visitors to major tourist destinations, and there is no evidence that Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) have targeted U.S. visitors and residents based on their nationality (https://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_6033.html).
Although the Mexico Travel Warning starts with that language, it continues with issues that provide significant concerns for U.S. citizens traveling to Mexico:
U.S. travelers should be aware that the Mexican government has been engaged in an extensive effort to counter TCOs which engage in narcotics trafficking and other unlawful activities throughout Mexico. The TCOs themselves are engaged in a violent struggle to control drug trafficking routes and other criminal activity. Crime and violence are serious problems and can occur anywhere. U.S. citizens have fallen victim to criminal activity, including homicide, gun battles, kidnapping, carjacking and highway robbery. While most of those killed in narcotics-related violence have been members of TCOs, innocent persons have also been killed. The number of U.S. citizens reported to the Department of State as murdered in Mexico was 113 in 2011 and 71 in 2012 (https://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_6033.html).
The Travel Warning continues with other safety concerns in Mexico. Following the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in Lockerbie, Scotland (this flight included the death of U.S. study abroad students on a group flight returning to the U.S.), the U.S. Department of State has instituted a “no double standard policy” where they are required to disseminate safety concern issues to all U.S. citizens if they provide that information to their staff. For Mexico, this includes information about what they tell State Department employees and their families in Mexico:
USG personnel and their families are prohibited from personal travel to all areas to which it is advised to “defer non-essential travel”. When travel for official purposes is essential, it is conducted with extensive security precautions. USG personnel and their families are allowed to travel for personal reasons to the areas where no advisory is in effect or where the advisory is to exercise caution. While the general public is not forbidden from visiting places categorized under “defer non-essential travel,” USG personnel will not be able to respond quickly to an emergency situation in those areas due to security precautions that must be taken by USG personnel to travel to those areas (https://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_6033.html).
The information above raises two issues – where it may not be safe to travel and where the U.S. Department of State may be more limited in efforts to help U.S. citizens if they find themselves in trouble. Again, this provides guidance that different parts of Mexico should be evaluated by U.S. colleges and universities in terms of which areas would be safe to send students and which may provide higher levels of risk than would be acceptable for a home campus or program. The Travel Warning continues by providing a state-by-state assessment of safety issues in Mexico:
Below is a state-by-state assessment of security conditions throughout Mexico. The accompanying map will help in identifying individual locations. Travelers should be mindful that even if no advisories are in effect for a given state, crime and violence can occur anywhere. For general information about travel and other conditions in Mexico, see our Country Specific Information.
It also refers readers to review the Mexico Country Specific Information about Mexico (https://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_970.html). Along with additional background about Mexico, the country specific Information includes additional information about transportation safety, crime, and other issues that are important in obtaining a better understanding about safety issues in Mexico.
It is critical for study abroad faculty and staff to review all available information and bring together on-campus colleagues to make appropriate decisions about where to offer programs in Mexico. I hope that many of you will be able to attend or send a representative to the program in Mexico City on August 26th. We appreciate the support from Terra Dotta for the program and look forward to Terra Dotta staff participation as well. I will be presenting as a part of the program and hope to see you there.
Following is additional information about the program:
OSAC (Overseas Security Advisory Council, U.S. Department of State) will offer the international College and University Study Abroad Health, Safety, and Security Seminar at the University of California's Casa de California in Mexico City, Mexico on Monday, August 26, 2013.
This free, one-day seminar will address special topics and issues related to educational programs for on-site study abroad program providers for U.S. college students. Through support from sponsors, there will be no cost to participate in the seminar.
University of California Education Abroad Program is hosting the program at their Casa de California and Terra Dotta Software will sponsor lunch for attendees. This free, one-day seminar, will address critical issues facing education abroad professionals including student health, mental health, crisis management, personal security, a regional security overview, substance abuse, and more.
The seminar has been developed with support from AMPEI, the Mexican Association for International Education, and includes AMPEI leadership and members from various Mexican universities as presenters for the program.
Participants will also be invited to participate in an OSAC Mexico City Country Council meeting on the morning of Tuesday, August 27, 2013; details to follow.
Agenda and Logistic Information:
The seminar is free. Attendees will need to cover their own transportation, lodging, and other personal expenses. The agenda, and information on travel, lodging, and local information has been posted on the OSAC website.
Registration for OSAC Constituents:
Registration is now open on the event's website: https://www.osac.gov/Pages/EventDetails.aspx?cid=1812 on OSAC.gov.
Registration for non-OSAC Constituents:
If you do not have an OSAC.gov account, please contact Christina Lorelli at LorelliCJ@state.gov to register and receive copies of the draft agenda and logistical information. A copy of the draft agenda for the day can also be found on the SAFETI Website at: www.globaled.us/safeti/mexico2013/agenda
If you have specific questions about the event, please contact OSAC Anna Rapp, Research and Information Support Center (RISC) Staff, at 571-345-7748 or RappAM@state.gov.
It is important to remember that all locations where students study, including U.S. colleges and universities, include safety challenges. As university faculty and staff, it is critical that we maintain intelligent and open dialogue to provide a balanced perspective when making decisions on where to send students for study abroad.