Surprise inspections found immigrant detention facility clean and well-run

On March 6, 2023, I was appointed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to the Torrance County Board of County Commissioners to represent District 3. Immediately after my swearing-in on March 8, 2023, I took part in my first commission meeting.

I am a Democrat and an ACLU member. I am not a proponent of private prisons. I know very well the problems with private prisons in the past.

Because a part of my duties as county commissioner are to put my name to documents concerning Torrance County’s business with the CoreCivic-Torrance County Detention Facility, I have a humanitarian and professional duty to the detainees to ensure that the facility is being run in accordance with human rights, legal, and industry standards of care.

Throughout my 40-year career as a U.S. Merchant Marine officer, I conducted inspections and audits of towing vessels operating in the waters of U.S. for my employer. Those audits included reviewing policies and procedures, operating systems, and evaluating the performance and knowledge of personnel.

Since my swearing-in, I have made three visits to the TCDF, two of those visits were unannounced. One was with representatives of Innovative Law Lab who were representing the ACLU of New Mexico, ICE representatives, and CoreCivic management.

My first unannounced inspection of the facility was done on April 11, 2023, and caught the staff in the middle of a recurrent training session. The following is an excerpt from my report to the commission, which was read into the minutes of the April 26, 2023, commission meeting.

1. The Warden and his staff were forthcoming and cooperative, going so far as to provide maintenance records and the Restrictive Housing policy for my review.

2. The facility was clean, quiet, and well-staffed. CoreCivic is bringing staff from other facilities around the country in order to keep the Torrance County facility staffed as required by law, industry standards, and company policy.

3. The County Manager and I sampled the food and toured the kitchen and food storage areas. The food is nutritious and is comparable to school cafeteria food.

My last walk through of the facility began at 8 a.m. on Monday, May 29, 2023, the last day of the three-day Memorial Day weekend. No one other than my wife knew that I was coming on May 29.

In a May 19, 2023, op-ed in the Journal, “Asylum-seekers are being treated worse that animals,” the author makes claims about the Torrance County Detention Facility which, based on my inspections, I know to be untrue. The facility is clean, well-run, and it is a humane place to hold men waiting for their immigration hearings.

The current push to close the Torrance County Detention Facility is misguided. In the May 19, 2023, op-ed, the author urges Democrats to work toward closing the facility. Democrats’ efforts would be better used to pressure Congress to fully fund the immigration courts system so that the men in the TCDF can have a fair and timely hearing.

In the meantime, as a matter of my duty to the men held in the TCDF, I will continue to make surprise inspections.