Albuquerque, New Mexico — Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, and the Center for Constitutional Rights have filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of four Venezuelan migrants detained at the Otero Processing Center in Chaparral, New Mexico. The petition was submitted to the federal district court of New Mexico on Friday.
A writ of habeas corpus allows detainees to challenge their confinement's legality. The petitioners have been held at Otero between nine and 11.5 months and have been detained for over six months since being ordered removed from the United States. They argue that their prolonged detention violates the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.
In January 2024, Venezuela announced it would stop repatriation flights from the U.S. starting February 13, 2024, in response to economic sanctions re-imposed by the United States. As of March 2024, approximately 4,379 Venezuelans were in ICE custody. The petitioners are seeking immediate release from ICE custody.
Otero has faced criticism since its opening in 2008 for conditions described as inhumane and for due process violations. Recently, five Venezuelan men were placed in solitary confinement after coordinating a hunger strike against deportation pressures.
"My experience [at Otero] has been very bad. In this detention center, I feel like a prisoner," said Leonel, one of the petitioners detained at Otero County Processing Center. "For me to be detained here for so long is not fair."
“Once again, the Otero County Processing Center is violating the rights of those imprisoned in the facility,” said Zoe Bowman, Supervising Attorney with Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. “We urge that ICE release our clients from custody to prevent further needless and indefinite suffering.”
“Detaining people for prolonged periods without any meaningful recourse—especially after they have every reason to believe they should be released—not only violates their constitutional rights but inflicts severe psychological and physical harm,” said Rebecca Sheff, Senior Staff Attorney at ACLU of New Mexico.
“As we grapple with the detrimental consequences of U.S. foreign policy, it is unconscionable that our government treats human beings who are courageously seeking safety as undeserving of dignity and protection,” said Mikaila Hernández, attorney and Bertha Justice Fellow at the Center for Constitutional Rights.
The organizations behind this legal action call for an end to what they describe as unjust detentions influenced by broader geopolitical tensions.