On Monday, April 22, 2024, the Dignity Not Detention Coalition joined sixty-three organizations on a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Acting ICE Director Patrick J. Lechleitner calling for nonrenewal of the ICE detention contract at the Torrance County Detention Facility (TCDF) when it expires on May 14, 2024. READ FULL LETTER The letter cites to ongoing violations of ICE’s own national detention standards since TCDF reopened in 2019, leading up to the death of Kesley Vial in 2022. Before and after Vial’s death, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) to ..read more

Violations of the 2011 Performance-Based National Detention Standards in New Mexico Immigration Detention Facilities EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The U.S. immigration system often results in the detention of those apprehended by Customs and Border Protection or Immigration and Customs Enforcement as they await removal proceedings. However, immigration detention – implemented to a large extent in 1981 – is a relatively new phenomenon. Over time, this system has expanded and incorporated harsher measures, resulting in the growth of the detained population in ICE custody. People in detention have been per ..read more

Versión en español One of New Mexico Immigrant Law Center's most crucial missions is to safeguard the rights of immigrants who have been deprived of their freedom. Every Friday, NMILC's legal team visits one of the detention centers throughout the state of New Mexico. The practice of detaining asylum seekers has sadly become common along the U.S.-Mexico border. Currently, three immigration detention centers in New Mexico benefit from state contracts to house individuals in the asylum process. Upon arriving at the southern border, many of these individuals are detained and sent to these facili ..read more

Versión en español On the evening of January 26, 2024, the White House issued President Biden’s statement in support of a newly drafted bipartisan proposal to strengthen border security.   Earlier that same day, here in New Mexico, I had the privilege of accompanying a group of volunteer lawyers from the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center on their weekly visit to the Torrance County Detention Facility. Every Friday, NMILC sends attorneys and Spanish-speaking volunteers to conduct immigration workshops at both the Cibola Detention Center (housing female and transgender migrants) and the ..read more

Colorado College students conducted interviews and research into the experiences of detained asylum seekers in two of New Mexico’s immigration detention facilities at Torrance County Detention Facility and Cibola County Correctional Center. Their findings corroborate ongoing reports of abuses at the facilities and identify violations of ICE’s Performance-Based National Detention Standards (PBNDS).   The report, entitled “I Didn’t Know If I Would Survive”: Excessive Use of Force and Inadequate Subsequent Care in a New Mexico Immigration Detention Facility, is accessible HERE. This re ..read more

If you and your family suffered from abuse, violence, human trafficking, political corruption, inadequate health care or famine, you would likely seek asylum in a place like the U.S., where better job opportunities, less violence and abuse, better healthcare and access to food and education are widely available.  Imagine making that choice and packing minimal necessities to arrive in this new country full of hope, only to be immediately detained and separated from your children. Try to place yourself in those shoes. What would you do? Who would you call? Imagine that your captors also ab ..read more

If you and your family suffered from abuse, violence, human trafficking, political corruption, inadequate health care or famine, you would likely seek asylum in a place like the U.S., where better job opportunities, less violence and abuse, better healthcare and access to food and education are widely available.  Imagine making that choice and packing minimal necessities to arrive in this new country full of hope, only to be immediately detained and separated from your children. Try to place yourself in those shoes. What would you do? Who would you call? Imagine that your captors also ab ..read more

“This protest is being done due to lack of attention, respect, and information. We immigrants feel frustrated and humiliated.” —Detainees, Cibola County Correctional Center For the last two days at Cibola County Correctional Center, more than a dozen men have gone on a hunger strike, protesting the conditions of their confinement at the facility. They've been on strike for approximately 48 hours as of December 21st. Their demand letter follows:    DEMAND LETTER First of all, cordial greetings. On behalf of these signatories, today on Wednesday, 20 December 2023, we present this lett ..read more

Access to food, water and hygiene are all examples of what most would consider are even the most basic human rights. Yet these and many other rights are being continually denied for long periods of time to those who seek asylum in the United States, many of whom would be either killed or jailed if returned to their home countries by authoritarian regimes.  Cibola County Correctional Center and Torrance Country Detention Center ICE facilities, as well as the El Paso CBP sector soft-sided facilities, are all designed to temporarily hold asylum seekers for processing. ICE and CBP facilities ..read more

Asylum seekers, those facing deportation, undocumented survivors of abuse, or young people seeking higher education or looking to apply for citizenship: are all required to face immigration judges along their paths. Most of these cases calls for guidance from professionals, be it attorneys, interpreters or translators. These services are essential. Yet for those with little financial resources, navigating the court system without representation can be daunting, stress-inducing and seemingly impossible. Without representation or guidance, the result for many is facing deportation. Thankfully, t ..read more