Immigrant rights groups, including the New Mexico Immigrant Legal Center (NMILC) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico, criticized a recent legislative tour of the Otero County Processing Center. The facility, which holds individuals in federal immigration custody, was visited earlier today during an event that advocates described as lacking transparency.
The groups stated that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made it difficult for a committee-led tour to take place, according to reporting from Source NM. Instead, Senator Crystal Brantley of Elephant Butte arranged the visit by using her connections with the Trump administration.
“Even in this carefully curated and sanitized tour, I witnessed the majority of lives that fill these facilities: noncriminal detainees in despair, silent, and confined to their beds. I was disturbed by the sense of pride some ICE officials seemed to demonstrate when discussing this administration’s strategy for disregarding due process and constitutional protections," said Representative Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe). "I remain committed to banning state and local governments from contracting for immigration detention in New Mexico when they take away the rights of everyday people simply trying to better their lives in our country.”
Jessica Martinez, director of policy and coalition building at NMILC, commented on long-standing concerns at detention centers across New Mexico. "Our attorneys, who provide legal services and support to people in detention centers on a weekly basis, have documented human rights violations and unacceptable conditions in all three of New Mexico’s detention centers for years,” she said. “This wasn't oversight—this was theater. The Trump administration is under fire for immigration enforcement abuses. When it determines exactly what people can see in detention centers, that's not transparency—that's a photo opportunity designed to whitewash documented problems. We cannot allow New Mexico to be used as a laboratory for mistreatment."
The visit took place as national immigration enforcement has increased and ICE’s budget has reached record levels. In addition, a large tent facility with capacity for 5,000 people is opening at Fort Bliss military base near El Paso and extending into Doña Ana and Otero counties.
Advocates noted that since 2022 at least three people have died while in custody at detention centers within New Mexico. These facilities have histories of reported human rights violations and inadequate medical care.
“We are deeply concerned to hear reports of what appears to be a sanitized tour, when our organizations, partners, and lawmakers have documented serious conditions and violations at these facilities," said Lena Weber, policy director at the ACLU of New Mexico. “The Otero detention center—and all immigration detention centers—are inherently dangerous. Regardless of what legislators who participated in the tour observed, mountains of evidence demonstrate how unsafe Otero and other detention facilities truly are. No carefully choreographed visit can erase this documented record of harm.”
Both organizations called on lawmakers to pass the Immigrant Safety Act during an upcoming special or regular session. The legislation aims to end state involvement with private contractors operating immigration detention centers—a system critics say shields those contractors from accountability for alleged human rights abuses. The bill previously passed the House but did not advance out of the Senate.
