New Mexico congresswoman conducts surprise inspection of beleaguered ICE detention facility

ESTANCIA, N.M. – Days after a stinging inspection report on the privately managed Torrance County Detention Facility, U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury, a first-term Democrat representing New Mexico's 1st Congressional District, made an unannounced visit Monday morning.

Emerging more than two and a half hours later, Stansbury said the living conditions she saw were not as bad as findings detailed in the report by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General.

"The sinks were working. We did not see mold. The facilities were clean," she said.

The OIG report claimed to have found backed-up sinks and toilets, faucets that were not working or not delivering hot water and signs of mold and water damage. It called for all detainees to be removed from the complex until conditions were improved and staffing was increased.

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Stansbury said she and staff members turned on showers and sinks Monday to see for themselves and found working hot water throughout.

She reported detecting a "smell of sewer" in one unit not currently housing detainees, where the company said plumbing repairs were taking place. It was here, CoreCivic argued, that inspectors had taken photographs of toilets and sinks in unsanitary condition.

The congresswoman spoke to reporters outside in rain and light hail next to a county road, after CoreCivic ordered reporters off the property.

Some detainees Stansbury reported speaking with voiced complaints about their accommodations and services, and she questioned detaining migrants — including asylum applicants who are legally present in the U.S. while their cases are pending — "like criminals."

ICE had rejected the OIG's findings despite having itself issued notices to CoreCivic as recently as March 1 that "critically short staffing plans are directly responsible for the breakdown in the overall operation capabilities of the (Torrance County facility)."

CoreCivic, meanwhile, claimed that OIG staff had conducted themselves unprofessionally at the site and had staged or misrepresented evidence "in order to achieve preconceived conclusions."

Stansbury was joined by her own staff as well as representatives for New Mexico's junior U.S. Senator, Ben Ray Luján, and ICE field staff.

It was her first in-person visit to the facility, although staff members for her and fellow New Mexico Democrats have made repeat visits since last year.

The lone Republican among New Mexico's delegation, U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell, has not commented on conditions at ICE facilities although one managed by another private contractor in her own district — the Otero County Processing Center in Chaparral — has been the subject of complaints by detainees and advocates as well.

The 32-year-old prison in Torrance County is owned and operated by the for-profit prison company formerly known as the Corrections Corporation of America, which contracted with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in 2019 to house detainees there for approximately $2 million per month. It also houses detainees for the U.S. Marshals Service and for Torrance County.

The detainee population fluctuates daily. Stansbury said there were 158 detainees on Monday morning, including 51 held for ICE.

Stansbury offered kind words for the facility's staff and said management had allowed her access to the entire facility to inspect housing units and interact with detainees, including those on the county side.

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Stansbury said she met detainees from Turkey who identified themselves as Kurdish refugees and complained of continuing difficulties accessing legal counsel after three months in custody. She also reported meeting detainees from Guatemala, Ecuador and Mexico.

The facility failed a federal inspection last July and has been criticized by Democrats from New Mexico's congressional delegation for low staffing levels and inadequate legal and translation services. The delegation said 43 grievances had been filed in a single year over safety, medical care and food conditions.

ICE has maintained that since the July inspection, CoreCivic has improved staffing levels while insisting the Tennessee-based company maintained adequate staffing for the population.

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Stansbury has joined some of her House colleagues in calling for an end to for-profit prisons, saying privatization does not permit sufficient oversight of detention conditions.

In its place, she called Monday for "a community-based approach to addressing immigration and asylum cases" and for Homeland Security and ICE to end private detention contracts.

"Structurally, the system is broken," she said. "We need reform in our immigration system. We need a more just immigration system that does not detain and treat those who are seeking asylum like criminals."

Algernon D'Ammassa can be reached at 575-541-5451, adammassa@lcsun-news.com or @AlgernonWrites on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Congresswoman conducts surprise inspection of ICE detention facility