Torrance County extends ICE contract at detention center through March

Torrance County commissioners have unanimously voted to extend a contract that allows the county detention center to house U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees.

On Tuesday, Chairman Ryan Schwebach, Vice Chair Kevin McCall and Commissioner Linda Jaramillo met for a closed special meeting that lasted less than five minutes to approve modifications and an extension to a contract between the Torrance County Detention Facility (TCDF) and ICE that would last until March 31. The conference was not open to public comment, as is customary for special meetings.

While the contract was renewed only for three months, Schwebach said he would continue to sign extensions and would approve a long-term contract if presented.

"I just know Core Civic has been a very good business partner, has been a very good-run prison. ... If they bring me a five-year contract that's similar to that one, I'm going to pass that too," he said. "That's just where we stand. Nothing is changing."

Core Civic — a private prison operator and one of the largest contractors for migrant detention centers in the country — has contracts with three facilities in New Mexico: the Cibola County Correctional Center, Torrance County Detention Facility and the Northwest New Mexico Correctional Center. 

The original 2020 agreement with TCDF had already been extended once, adding an additional seven months. The contract currently allows some 505 ICE detainees to be housed at the facility located in Estancia.

The contract modification also includes an increase in the fixed monthly payment for ICE-allocated beds, as well as a new requirement for the facility to maintain 85% overall staffing. Records show the monthly payments total more than $2 million.

In October, Commissioner McCall shot down rumors that his business, McCall's Pumpkin Patch, was affiliated with ICE after social media rumors caused some to boycott the business after commissioners voted to extend their contract with ICE again. 

In the past, advocates against the contract have said that they had concerns about alleged environmental and safety issues at the detention facility, citing issues of a collapsed septic tank and cell doors that had to be opened manually because they were malfunctioning. 

Some of those advocates, including U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M, have called for the outright closure of the detention facility, citing reports from legal service advocates who said there have been poor living conditions such as raw sewage overflowing in housing units. 

“The lapse in contractual authority for the continued detention and care of immigrants at TCDF is extremely concerning," Heinrich said in a Nov. 13 news release in reference to the county continuing operations at the facility despite the contract expiring at the time.

"I reiterate my calls for ICE to close the facility, but if you will not, I urge you to transfer all ICE detainees out of TCDF immediately until such time that the contract between ICE and Torrance County is extended," he said.

In an interview Friday, Schwebach denied any allegations of unsafe conditions within the facility and said that many of the claims were not substantiated and that Torrance County was caught in the crossfire of what he believes is a national issue over immigration policies.

"I believe Torrance County is a low-hanging fruit for (advocates)," he said. "I have yet to find any residents of Torrance County opposed to that prison and my job as a commissioner is to represent the people of Torrance County." 

Schwebach said that the prison makes a difference in the community, both for its economic benefits and for the safety of Torrance County residents, detainees and inmates and that closing the facility would not free undocumented migrants. 

"This concept that if we don't sign this contract the prison is going to close is foolish," Schwebach said. "If that prison closes down, (detainees) are not going to be over here to build our rural economy."

He added that the county had to pay about $2.5 million to transport detainees, mostly suspected of domestic abuse, when the facility had previously closed.

Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.