By Andrea Vasquez
The Torrance County Board of County Commissioners agreed to extend once again their geopolitical contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for at least three more months.
During the special meeting held on Dec. 30, several immigration defense groups voiced their concerns with the decision to expand the contract for a “site of physical and psychological torture,” according to PJ Podesta of Innovation Law Lab.
The condition and treatment of detainees at CoreCivic’s facility have been a debated subject in recent months. Different groups and individuals have raised their voices to convey the severity of the alleged abuses at TCDF.
The highlighted issues that have been repeated through different meetings and rallies have been sewage flooding, deficient medical care, reported suicide cases and unjust disciplinary actions such as the use of solitary confinement for detainees who speak up against the alleged injustices.
The non-profit organization and the public were not the only opposition in the meeting. An individual from the other side of the room had the most prominent voice.
“Trump’s (immigration) plan goes against my principles and core beliefs. I can no longer support Core Civic and the TCDF in good conscience,” said District 3 Commissioner Samuel Schropp.
He also mentioned a series of historical injustices that he feels intertwine with TCDF’s current state, leading him to have moral objections against the continued operation of the correctional facility.
“My wife is Cherokee, and in a shameful episode in the United States history, her people were forced from their homes and farms by the US government…As many as 4,000 people, many women and children died along the way, and great great grandmother survived as an orphaned infant because a white family took her in along the Trail of Tears,” he added regarding the parallel between Native Americans and the current migrant situation.
Despite the efforts, the motion to approve the agreement modification was passed, with the only objection coming from Schropp.
The contract between TCDF through CoreCivic and ICE was extended for three additional months and will expire on March 31.