Torrance County commissioners will confront a public controversy that has spilled over into targeting a commissioner’s private business, as officials defend their decision to maintain a federal immigration enforcement agreement despite community opposition.
The Wednesday administrative meeting will include discussion of “McCall’s Pumpkin Patch and Torrance County’s Intergovernmental Agreement with the US Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” referencing what appears to be efforts to boycott Vice Chair Kevin McCall’s business over the county’s immigration policies.
The controversy stems from an email sent by Ellen Bernstein, president of the Albuquerque Teachers Federation, to APS educators titled “McCall’s Prison Patch?” The email informed teachers that McCall, who owns the popular fall destination, “has proven to be an unquestioning supporter (literally) of using the Torrance County Detention Center to house people detained by ICE.”
Bernstein’s email cited reporting from Source New Mexico about the commission’s unanimous vote to extend the ICE contract, noting it was conducted “in a matter of about 30 seconds, without any discussion.” The email also referenced “various documented human rights violations against detainees” at the facility.
“The jail has been the scene of various documented human rights violations against detainees, but Mr. McCall and the other commissioners excuse that in the name of economic gain for both the county and private interests,” Bernstein wrote, concluding with “Spooky stuff. Beware rotten pumpkins.”
In an interview Tuesday, Bernstein clarified that the email never explicitly called for a boycott but was intended to inform educators about McCall’s role in county decisions. She said teachers regularly take students to the pumpkin patch, but wanted staff to understand the political context.
“We teach kids who are terrified and living with families who are terrified to the extent that they feel unsafe sending their kids to school,” Bernstein said. “We’re not kidding when we say it, our kids are scared.”
County Manager J. Jordan Barela issued a statement Tuesday clarifying that the agenda item addresses “ongoing public communications being made on social media platforms by the Albuquerque Teachers’ Union and other community groups” regarding the commission’s support for the Torrance County Detention Facility through its ICE agreement.
Barela emphasized, “there is no interconnection between the private businesses of individual commissioners and the decision made by the County Commission regarding the ICE agreement.”
The McCall family responded with their own statement, saying social media “turned this into a string of lies” and clarifying that “in no way has ICE been involved in any of this and in no way do the McCalls have any contact with ICE.”
The family said Commission Chair Ryan Schwebach was “outraged” by Bernstein’s email and requested the agenda item for Wednesday’s meeting.
The meeting, scheduled for 9 a.m. at 205 S. Ninth Street in Estancia, will be available via Zoom.
Beyond the immigration debate, commissioners will consider major organizational changes, including dissolving six fire districts to create two consolidated districts and reviewing plans for a $20,800 emergency operations center in Moriarty.
