Teen program in Mexico forced to close

Nancy Perkins

Deseret Morning News

ST. GEORGE -- Hundreds of American teenagers enrolled in a youth treatment program in Mexico were forced to relocate after a surprise government raid over the weekend, the company's president said Monday.

Mexican immigration officials shut down Casa by the Sea, a behavioral modification program overseen by the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (Wwasps), for possible immigration or "health and safety" concerns, according to Ken Kay.

Mexican immigration officials said teenagers at Casa by the Sea showed signs of mistreatment, The New York Times reported.

"If you're investigating immigration violations, you don't talk to a couple of kids who are angry about being sent away by their parents," said Kay, whose St. George-based company makes millions by enrolling troubled youths at facilities operating in several states and Jamaica. "We had no letters, no notice, nothing. They brought armed guards and six buses to transport the kids across the border."

Casa by the Sea is located about 50 miles south of San Diego near the seaport town of Ensenada. The facility enrolled 536 teenagers and employed 270 people, Kay said.

Allegations that some of the teens had been mistreated while enrolled at Casa by the Sea are unfounded, he added.

The alleged raid in Mexico is among several recent incidents that have plagued Wwasps this year. In New York in March, two men were accused of assaulting a 17-year-old boy while he was en route to a Wwasps facility near the Canadian boarder. Assaults have also been alleged at Wwasp facilities in Rich County and in Thompson Falls, Mont.

Mexican officials who arrived unannounced Friday morning to tour the facility reportedly found two people without proper work visas and three teenagers isolated in an "intervention room" with a staff member.

Kay, who coordinated efforts to place the teenagers in one of the company's other programs, said he had no idea why an arm of the Mexican government would conduct such a raid.

"Our American Embassy did absolutely nothing to help us or the kids," said Kay.

U.S. government officials in San Diego and Tijuana were unavailable for comment Monday night.

Parents of some of the youths already at the facility for a seminar were able to pick up their kids, while several bus loads of teens were driven to a hotel in San Diego. More than 70 percent of the teens were transferred to other company programs, Kay said. Contributing: Laura Hancock; E-mail: nperkins@desnews.com