As Democrats sue for access to ICE facilities, Vasquez visits NM detention site

CHAPARRAL — In a remote area of southern New Mexico close to the Texas state line, the Otero County Processing Center serves as one of three privately managed facilities in New Mexico housing detainees for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The facility sits on McGregor Road next to the Otero County Prison Facility, which houses inmates for the New Mexico Corrections Department and detainees or inmates in federal custody. Both sites are owned by Otero County and privately operated by the Management and Training Corp.

U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., paid a visit to the ICE facility on Wednesday during a trip to his district, but after a visit lasting about two hours, Vasquez said his inspection was limited and that he was not allowed to meet any of the detainees. He and his staff were also not permitted to bring phones or recording devices.

“MCT and ICE have apparently a new policy here at the detention center in which we could not talk to the actual detainees, despite having done this in the past at other detention facilities,” Vasquez told reporters after his tour. “This was made known to us today.”

Vasquez said he had requested the tour seven days in advance, although federal law permits members of Congress to conduct unannounced oversight visits.

Earlier that day, 13 of Vasquez’s Democratic House colleagues — including U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar of a neighboring district in El Paso, Texas — sued ICE and the U.S. Homeland Security department for blocking their efforts to visit detention sites, citing federal statute granting Congress members the authority to “conduct investigations in order to obtain facts pertinent to possible legislation and in order to evaluate the effectiveness of current laws.”

In June, DHS issued new guidance restricting congressional inspections, prompting pushback by Democrats seeking access to facilities where immigrants are being detained at accelerated rates amid complaints about living conditions and access to services.

At the end of June, agency data compiled by researchers at Syracuse University estimated nearly 57,000 people were in ICE custody as of July 13. The detentions are expected to expand even further with the $45 billion appropriated for expanded detention capacity by the recently enacted “Big Beautiful Bill.”

DHS has said advance notice is necessary “to prevent interference with the President’s Article II authority to oversee executive department functions — a week is sufficient to ensure no intrusion on the President’s constitutional authority.” The department has also alleged that assaults and disruptions at ICE facilities have increased, and that some members of Congress were using the visits for publicity.

Last month, a federal grand jury indicted U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., for “forcibly impeding and interfering with federal officers” during their arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka for entering a secured area at a local ICE detention facility in May.

“These members of Congress could have just scheduled a tour; instead, they’re running to court to drive clicks and fundraising emails,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told The Associated Press.

Vasquez is not among the lawsuit’s plaintiffs, but he told the Journal his discussion with the facility’s ICE representative indicated that DHS guidance was overriding federal law. “That’s what this lawsuit’s about,” he said. “When we’re a nation of law and order, we’ve got to stick to that.”

As to conditions at the processing center, Vasquez said the facility was “busting at the seams,” recently running at or over its official capacity of 1,089 people, of whom more than 80% had no criminal convictions or pending criminal charges.

“We also saw nonworking phones, nonworking toilets; we saw a facility that is housing a lot of folks who don’t even know why they’re here to begin with,” he said. “The lack of access to advocacy services or legal services is extremely hard in there.”

The congressman’s visit coincided with an announcement by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham that she would include prospective legislation addressing privately-operated immigration detention facilities in New Mexico on the agenda of a special session likely to run in August or September.