The Torrance County Commission voted unanimously Sept. 25 to extend the contract between the Torrance County Detention Facility (TCDF) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) until Dec. 31.
Although there was no discussion by county commissioners about the contract extension during the meeting at which it was approved, the majority of the public comments involved the renewal of the contract and commenters read statements from detainees at the facility.
The Independent reached out to three Torrance County Commissioners, two of whom were unavailable for comment. One commissioner directed questions to the county manager, who needed to collect more information about the contract before answering questions. The Independent has not heard back as of press time.
In statements read and translated when necessary by attorneys and advocates from organizations like Innovation Law Lab, the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center and Volunteers for Immigrants in Detention, current or former detainees said that they have been separated from their families and deported to countries like Venezuela that do not have deportation agreements with the United States.
In one of the statements read during public comments, a detainee seeking asylum said that he was taken to TCDF after fleeing Venezuela. The detainee said he feared being sent to Mexico because his wife lost a baby after being kidnapped there. In another statement, a TCDF detainee said that they would rather be deported than remain in their current situation.
PJ Podesta, a legal services provider with Innovation Law Lab who provides legal services to people detained by ICE, expressed gratitude to detainees and advocates for sharing their stories during recent Torrance County Commission meetings.
“At every one of the County Commission meetings since April 10, people currently or formerly detained by ICE and CoreCivic at TCDF and advocates charged with their support have testified to innumerable physical and psychological harms at the facility including suicide and more,” he said.
During a Torrance County Commission meeting Sept. 11, advocates read statements from detainees who said they were held at TCDF after seeking asylum from countries where they were targeted for political opposition to their government. Statements from detainees alleged that they were not provided with adequate food or hygiene products like shampoo or toilet paper, and were sometimes denied water when they asked for it. Advocates also read statements from detainees saying they were not provided with essential medicine like insulin, and were forced to sign paperwork saying that they were.
During the Sept. 11 meeting, immigration attorney and Director of Policy and Coalition Building at the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center Jessica Martinez said she has worked with legal experts who have “documented and substantiated claims of terrible conditions in these detention centers.”
“A case that continues to haunt me is one of a man with a bone sticking out of his ankle and nothing was being done for him,” she said.
In an email to The Independent, Director of Public Affairs at CoreCivic Ryan Gustin said, “While people are entitled to their opinions about the very complex matter of immigration, they are not entitled to make up falsehoods about the work of the professionals at TCDF. The reality is that we provide a safe, humane, and appropriate environment for the individuals at TCDF and are constantly striving to deliver an even better standard of care.”
The Independent reported in April that the Torrance County Commission unanimously approved extending their contract with ICE and CoreCivic for the TCDF. According to The Independent, during public comments in the April 24 commission meeting, activists from the New Mexico Immigration Law Center and the Innovation Law Lab delivered statements purportedly from detainees at the facility regarding inadequate food, along with complaints regarding the ICE adjudication process and the emotional impact of being detained.
Commissioner Sam Schropp expressed concerns about the activists’ credibility.
In April, The Independent reported that the April 10 Torrance County Commission Meeting was standing room only when multiple immigration rights organizations attended the meeting to protest the renewal of the contract between TCDF and CoreCivic — the company that operates the detention center — alleging inmates faced “inhumane conditions” while held at TCDF. According to The Independent, at the April 10 meeting, a campaign manager employed by the New Mexico Dream Team read a statement from an inmate alleging that guards at TCDF kicked him in the area of his stomach where he was suffering from a hernia.
In an emailed statement, TCDF said, “We vehemently deny any allegations of detainee mistreatment. There is a robust grievance process in place should a detainee ever feel they have been treated unfairly.
“TCDF is subject to numerous layers of oversight that involve rigorous, hands-on, onsite reviews of our facility to ensure full compliance with policies and procedures, including the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Performance Based National Detention Standards (PBNDS),” Gustin said in an emailed statement. “ICE has repeatedly audited TCDF, reaching conclusions that support the facility’s continued operation. There have been no findings during the inspections that indicate substandard or dangerous living conditions in the detention housing units.”
“It’s worth noting that CoreCivic does not enforce immigration laws or policies or have any say whatsoever in an individual’s deportation or release,” Gustin said. “Those decisions are solely made by our government partners at ICE.”