Title: Concerns Mount Over Unsanitary and Unsafe Conditions in US Immigration Facilities
In a recent class-action lawsuit, U.S. immigration authorities have been accused of neglecting to address unsanitary and unsafe conditions at a detention center in New Mexico. The allegations suggest that this disregard was intentional, aimed at ensuring the facility would continue to receive public funding and remain operational. The lawsuit, filed by a coalition of migrants’ rights advocates, was brought on behalf of four Venezuelan asylum-seekers who claim to have been denied medical care, proper hygiene facilities, and adequate food while being forced into unpaid cleaning duties.
The Torrance County Detention Facility, located in the rural town of Estancia, approximately 200 miles from the Mexico border, is contracted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to house a minimum of 505 adult male migrants at any given time, though the actual population may vary. Advocates have long raised concerns about substandard living conditions at the facility and the limited access to legal counsel for asylum-seekers in transit. They have urged ICE to terminate its contract with the private detention operator, while also calling for state lawmakers to prohibit local government contracts for migrant detention.
Mark Feldman, senior attorney at the National Immigrant Justice Center, one of the organizations representing the plaintiffs, emphasized the importance of ICE’s responsibility to oversee conditions in all detention facilities. He stated, The point is that ICE can’t turn a blind eye to conditions in detention facilities. They maintain congressionally mandated oversight responsibility over conditions wherever immigrants are detained.
The lawsuit specifically highlights a failed performance evaluation of the detention center in 2021. According to the plaintiffs, ICE scrambled to avoid documentation of a second consecutive failure that could have jeopardized federal funding by endorsing a questionable inspection conducted by an independent contractor. The lawsuit accuses the agency of disregarding contradictory findings by both the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General and an ICE contracting officer, which indicated the presence of continuing unhealthy conditions and staff shortages.
When approached for comment, a spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined to respond, citing the agency’s policy of not discussing ongoing litigation. However, Chief of Staff Jason Houser did state last year that ICE would closely monitor the facility and discontinued the use of the Etowah County Detention Center in Alabama when certain expectations were not met.
CoreCivic, the private operator of the Torrance County Detention Facility, defended its operations, asserting that ICE has conducted multiple audits of the facility, validating its ability to maintain a safe and humane environment. Ryan Gustin, a spokesperson for CoreCivic, stated, We provide a safe, humane, and appropriate environment for those entrusted to us and are constantly striving to deliver an even better standard of care.
As of September, there were approximately 35,000 migrants held in ICE detention facilities across the United States, with an additional 195,000 individuals being monitored through alternatives to detention as they navigate immigration or removal proceedings, as reported by Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.
The southern border region has been grappling with a surge in migrant arrivals from South America, with many opting to swiftly traverse the hazardous Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama before continuing their journey northward.
The class-action lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque, has attracted notable representation from the ACLU, Innovation Law Lab, and attorneys for Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, underscoring the significance of the case and the concerns regarding the treatment of asylum-seekers in U.S. immigration facilities.
As the legal process unfolds, advocates and concerned citizens alike are eagerly awaiting the resolution of this lawsuit, hoping to see tangible improvements in the welfare of migrants and the conditions of detention facilities. The outcome will shape government accountability and ensure that detention centers are held to the highest standards of care and respect for human rights.
