One of the most critical migratory cases occurred on Dec. 19 at the 520 Gila Courtroom in Albuquerque’s Federal Courthouse.
This federal court hearing is the first to defy the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 2022 decision to re-certify the Torrance County Detention Facility in Estancia, New Mexico, as law-abiding with federal standards to remain operable, despite the numerous allegations and complaints of its alleged inhumane and precarious conditions.
“No one should have to endure the unsafe and inhumane conditions that persist at TCDF, yet over 500 individuals seeking safety in the United States are currently detained there,” said Rachel Landry, an attorney with Innovation Law Lab.
It is alleged that crucial evidence was omitted, allowing the detention facility to pass its general performance evaluation and raising concerns about ICE’s transparency.
Three individuals, previously detained at TCDF, argue that ICE violated federal law and their rights by allowing the facilities’ certification. They report being denied drinking water, facing broken plumbing concerns and delayed medical care, among others.
The plaintiffs argued that ICE excluded critical evidence, which includes a March 2022 alert from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, where the immediate removal of detainees due to unsafe conditions was recommended.
TCDF failed a national detention standards evaluation in 2021, and failing again in 2022 would have resulted in its closure.
Despite the facility’s failure to meet the required standards, ICE gave TCDF a passing score, bypassing a Congressional Two Strikes Mandate. This mandate requires ICE to terminate contracts with facilities that fail two consecutive annual inspections.
The class action lawsuit aims to cease the detention of asylum seekers at the TCDF and for the facility to close entirely.
“With reports that ICE is considering expanding detention capacity at TCDF, it’s more urgent than ever to highlight that ICE should have discontinued its use of this facility in 2022. It’s time to end immigration detention at TCDF for good,” said Rebecca Sheff, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico.
Attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, Innovation Law Lab, National Immigrant Justice Center, and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP emphasized the need for transparency and accountability, arguing ICE’s actions endanger lives and violate federal standards.
During the hearing, plaintiffs who were previously held at TCDF laid out disturbing details: limited access to safe drinking water, severely delayed medical care, broken facility infrastructure, and a detention centre that had failed prior inspections.
Perhaps most striking was that just one month before ICE gave the centre a passing grade, the DHS Office of the Inspector General issued a management alert demanding immediate removal of all detainees. The case argues that ICE’s certification wasn’t based on compliance, but on a desire to avoid shutting down a detention contract.
What makes this hearing historic is its potential ripple effect. If the court finds that ICE acted arbitrarily and capriciously, it could set a precedent not just for the TCDF, but for other facilities and contracts nationwide. Advocates see it as a moment to hold ICE accountable for oversight failures and demand that detention standards matter—not only on paper, but in practice.