#14/2021
For immediate release
Friday, December 10, 2021
Press Release
NORMA CHÁVEZ PETERSON IS AWARDED WITH THE OHTLI BY MEXICO’S GOVERNMENT
The executive director of ACLU San Diego and Imperial Counties was awarded tonight with the Ohtli, the highest recognition granted by the Government of Mexico to members of the Mexican Community, for defending and preserving the rights and freedoms of many immigrants.
The Award “Ohtli”, which in Nahuatl means camino or “path”, honors those trailblazers who have set an example for other people of Mexican origin to follow.
“Today’s awardee, Norma Chávez Peterson is an integral member of San Diego’s civil rights community, with nearly two decades of visionary leadership, organizing and advocacy experience in California’s second most populous county. She was instrumental in creating the ACLU advocacy campaign to advance priority issues such as criminal justice reform, police accountability and immigrant rights”, said Carlos González Gutiérrez, Consul General of Mexico in San Diego, who bestowed the Ohtli 2021 in presence of California elected officials, previous Ohtli awardees, and members of the Mexican and binational community.
At the Mingei International Museum -a cultural facility that holds one of the most important collections of Mexican Folk Art- he recalled that ACLU is a key member of the Mexican Civil Rights Advisory Group of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MCRAG, mechanism created to strengthen the existing collaboration between the consular network in the United States and organizations that have pursued legal strategies to ensure the Mexican nationals’ rights, independent of their immigration status.
Back in 2017, Norma Chavez was instrumental for the launching of the San Diego Rapid Response Network, which was created as a human rights coalition, legal service providers, and community leaders dedicated to provide counsel to immigrants, asylum seekers and their families in the border region.
Regarding her recognition, Norma Chávez said: “I am deeply honored and humbled to receive the prestigious Ohtli Award from the country of my birth. I accept this recognition on behalf of the people who believed in me, invested in me, and struggled to make a path for me throughout my life. I am the keeper of the legacy of my proud abuelita and the embodiment of the most cherished dreams of my courageous mother who, like thousands of other migrant parents, made and continue to make, enormous sacrifices for the future of their children. Because of them, it is my greatest passion and privilege to forge paths that lead to justice, meaningful opportunity, understanding and belonging for future generations of Mexicans and Latinos. And to all who have shared this vital work and all who will, I say gracias y ¡Adelante!”.
Recently, ACLU, along with other civil rights organizations, was able to conduct the legal battle that ended in the liberation of over 100 inmates facing vulnerable conditions at detention centers during the pandemic of COVID-19.
Moreover, ACLU has supported high visibility cases handled by the Consulate’s consultant attorneys –some of them former Ohtli´s recipients as well- where Mexican nationals were victims of the excessive use of force.