U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury and 51 of her colleagues requested increased transparency of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in an ICE Detention Closure Letter on Feb. 16.
“We write to urge the Department of Homeland Security to provide an update on the status of immigration detention facilities that are costing American taxpayers $235 million,” the letter states.
The letter addressed the memorandum that ICE officials drafted in August 2022 to recommend the closure or downsizing of nine immigration detention centers. It stated that six of the centers are operated by private, for-profit detention companies, including the Torrance County Detention Facility, but ICE only ended contracts with three of the nine centers.
The letter said in March 2022 the DHS Office of Inspector General recommended removal of all detainees from the Torrance County Detention Facility, but when the memorandum was sent to the DHS office the recommendation was removed.
“For-profit, private prisons are incentivized to cut costs, including on staffing and health care, to pad their profits,” the letter states. “These facilities are unsafe and detained individuals are often denied necessary medical care and other resources.”
“Multiple investigations and a wrongful death suit have made it abundantly clear that the conditions at the Torrance County Detention Facility are unsafe, inhumane, and inappropriate for housing asylum seekers who have already been screened and are awaiting further processing through the asylum system,” said Stansbury. “Certainly, federal taxpayer dollars should not be used to line the pockets of a private corporation to the tune of nearly $2 million a month in Torrance County alone. This contract between ICE and CoreCivic must be terminated.”
Stansbury and her colleagues are asking the DHS to provide a copy of the finalized memorandum dated Sept. 1, 2022 recommending the closure or downsizing of certain immigration facilities. They also asked for an explanation specific to each of the facilities mentioned within the memorandum, regarding what, if any, action was taken and why. They also wanted to know why the Torrance County Detention Facility was removed from the prior draft memorandum and what steps, if any, the Department is taking to address the concerns outlined in the 2022 OIG report regarding that facility. They also asked if there are any future plans to close or downsize the facilities mentioned within the memorandum.
“Our immigration system is broken, unfortunately, positive legislative reforms in immigration are unlikely this congress due to extreme MAGA Republican opposition,” the letter states. “Until that changes, we must do our best to operate within the current system to ensure that we are treating immigrants with dignity and utilizing our limited resources wisely.”
Stansbury seems more concerned with illegal immigrants that she does for citizens, or their relatives etc who voted her in to office. Sounds about right. She wants loyalty from her voters but doesn’t bother to give it back. Where’s her demand with a letter to ask about citizen inmates within the NMDOC who have been mistreated for decades? Or about the conditions they’re forced to endure ? She’s just a copy of whatever the Democratic Party wants her to be. Typical politician