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Commission approves seven‑month extension of ICE/CoreCivic contract after hours of public protest
Summary
After more than an hour of public testimony alleging inadequate medical care, retaliation and inhumane conditions at the Torrance County Detention Facility, the Board of County Commissioners approved a seven‑month extension of the county's contract with ICE/CoreCivic (April 1–Oct. 31, 2025). Commissioners said they will pursue unannounced visits and oversight during the extension.
The Torrance County Board of County Commissioners voted March 26 to extend its intergovernmental agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and CoreCivic for seven months, from April 1 to Oct. 31, 2025, after extended public comment that urged commissioners to deny the renewal.
Dozens of advocates, legal volunteers and people with direct ties to detainees urged the board not to renew the contract. Managing attorney Sophia Genovese of the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center said the county's detention facility has a record of what she described as persistent human‑rights abuses and that the county bears responsibility for continuing to house detainees under the private contract. "Torrance County is complicit in the executives mass detention and deportation campaign," Genovese said during public comment.
Multiple speakers read or played first‑hand statements from people held at the Torrance County Detention Facility alleging poor food, inadequate medical care and abusive treatment by staff. Lauryn Pfrommer‑Pease, a detention advocate, read a detainee statement that said, "They have treated me like a prisoner, not like a migrant. ... The medical treatment is not acceptable. All they do is hand out ibuprofen without any actual care." Other commenters described detainees with cancer, HIV and burn injuries who, they said, had not received necessary care.
Commissioner Linda Jaramillo said she would vote to approve the extension but asked for the opportunity to inspect the facility herself during the contract period. "I'm going to vote for this today. I'm going to do it, but I'd like to have more interaction with these detainees," she said, adding that commissioners may conduct unannounced visits.
County Manager J. Jordan Barela explained the vote approved a temporary extension while the County considers next steps; the motion passed on a unanimous roll‑call vote. No county official presented material evidence in the meeting rebutting the witnesses' allegations; commissioners instead emphasized oversight, site visits and additional review by staff.
The extension does not conclude policy debate. Advocates at the meeting urged the Board to use the seven‑month window to review conditions and pursue alternatives to detention. County staff said they will provide avenues for commissioners to visit the facility and will return with follow‑up materials as requested.
The vote: motion carried by roll call; Commissioners Schwebach, McCall and Jaramillo voted yes.
