New Mexico immigrants' rights advocates have expressed strong opposition to plans by the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) to increase immigration detention capacity in New Mexico and other states. The proposal involves expanding existing facilities in Cibola and Torrance counties and utilizing the Lea County Correctional Facility, a private prison not currently used for federal immigration custody.
The groups opposing this expansion include Innovation Law Lab, New Mexico Immigration Law Center (NMILC), New Mexico Dream Team, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico. They argue that the expansion is unnecessary and harmful.
Ian Philabaum, director of legal organizing at Innovation Law Lab, stated, "We should be fixing our broken immigration system, not putting more people in cages." He criticized the recent asylum ban for limiting pathways for migrants and refugees to enter the U.S., noting there are no reports of bed shortages in New Mexico. Philabaum suggested that this move appears to be an attempt to inflate ICE's budget and benefit private prison corporations.
The Torrance and Cibola facilities have been criticized for unsafe conditions such as overflowing sewage, lack of medical care, and understaffing. Federal inspectors have recommended closing Torrance. Similar criticisms have been directed at state prisons like Lea County Correctional Facility. The ACLU of New Mexico and other organizations have filed lawsuits over abuses in these facilities.
Sophia Genovese, managing attorney for NMILC, emphasized that seeking asylum is legal and a human right: "People fleeing their homes in search of safety... shouldn’t be detained in the first place." She warned that expanding detention would risk health and dignity while wasting taxpayer dollars.
Zoe Bowman from Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center called on local officials to reject the expansion: "It is intolerable... that people seeking safety continue to be detained within our state in inhumane conditions."
Rebecca Sheff from ACLU of New Mexico highlighted concerns about exacerbating suffering: "These facilities have long been plagued by abuse... adding more beds means trapping more people in a broken system."
The ACLU National Office has recently sued ICE over transparency issues related to its detention system expansion plans.