The Political Obstacles
Local efforts have had to step up to fill in the leadership vacuum created by changes at the federal level. While a unique coalitions of conservatives and progressives were able to pass a Criminal Justice Reform Bill in 2018, the Administration has reversed a number of Obama-era policies, including re-starting contracts with private prison providers. The Administration’s hard line on immigration is also traumatizing a generation of children with state violence, family separation and other law enforcement methods. With less federal support for mental health resources and other Obamacare preventive health measures, the Administration’s policies do little to end the cycle of personal and institutional violence that young men have historically faced.
These policy viewpoints have huge implications for combating violence in Latino communities, where the issue is faced in the street and in the home. With 1 out 3 Latinas having experienced domestic violence in their lifetime, it is likely that young boys are both witnessing and experiencing interpersonal violence. That trauma is only compounded by the street and gang violence that might follow young men at school or walk the streets, the depth of which is only now being explored by scholars and policy makers.