Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Detention Facility topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Advocates say sewage, water outages at Torrance County detention facility demand county action
Summary
Immigrant-rights advocates and attorneys told the Torrance County Commission that men detained at the county's detention facility reported repeated sewage flooding, prolonged water outages and inadequate medical care; speakers urged the county to end the ICE/CoreCivic contract and to investigate conditions.
Advocates for detained immigrants told the Torrance County Board of Commissioners on May 14 that men at the Torrance County Detention Facility (TCDF) have endured repeated sewage flooding, extended water shutoffs and inadequate medical care.
"People resorted to bathing in and even drinking the water brought in from trash cans," said Lauren Keenan of the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, who also described sewage backing up through cell drains and detainees forced to defecate on paper plates. Multiple advocates played recorded testimony from detainees describing similar conditions and alleged punitive management behavior by CoreCivic staff.
Jessica Martinez, an immigration attorney and director of policy at the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, said attorneys and government oversight bodies have documented violations and that members of New Mexico's congressional delegation have called for cancellation of ICE contracts. "These experiences that detainees have experienced have continued to go ignored," Martinez said, citing reports from the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and the Office of Inspector General.
Representatives from Innovation Law Lab and other advocacy groups summarized dozens of detainee reports of sewage flooding across multiple units during April and described water being turned on only during ICE visits. PJ Podesta of Innovation Law Lab said detainees were compelled to clean up feces without protective equipment and that transfers moved detainees into other flooded units.
Commission Chair Ryan Schwebach responded during the meeting's commissioner reports, saying county and municipal staff had worked with CoreCivic and the Town of Estancia to address water supply, noting water tanks and a pump were online and that immediate county steps had been taken. "By the end of the day, there was never a total out of water," he said, arguing some accounts were exaggerated but acknowledging ongoing oversight responsibilities.
The Commission did not take formal action on the ICE contract or on any investigation request during the meeting. Several outside organizers and attorneys asked the board to consider ending the county's contract with CoreCivic or to open an independent inquiry into TCDF operations; commissioners did not schedule a vote or directive on that request during the session.
