The detention center where the Brazilian Kesley Vial was, who died last week after four months in detention by immigration agents in the US, accumulates accusations of mistreatment by human rights bodies. In March, the US Department of Homeland Security even asked for the site to be suspended.
Kesley Vial, 23, died on the 24th in Albuquerque, New Mexico. According to Rebecca Sheff, an attorney for the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), which provides assistance to the family, he committed suicide.
The Brazilian had been detained at the end of April by Border Patrol agents in El Paso, Texas, after entering the country illegally. In the custody of the official immigration agency, ICE, he was taken to the Torrance County Detention Center (TCDF).
Founded in 1990, TCDF is located in Estancia, just under 100 kilometers from Albuquerque, and is managed by a private company, Core Civic, which manages 113 such centers in the country.
Detainees remain in place until they receive an opinion on their US asylum claims. The center’s monthly budget is $2 million a month, and with a capacity of 979 people, the facility housed 491 detainees as of December 2021, the date of the last available report — men and women, ages 18 to 75.
In March, Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari released a 19-page alert calling for the removal of all detainees from the TCDF after finding a series of problems at the site. “Torrance is critically understaffed, which has prevented it from meeting contractual requirements that ensure detainees reside in a safe, secure and humane environment,” the document reads.
According to the agency, the center should have 245 full-time employees, but it only has 133. Of the 112 vacant posts, 94 are in the security area. The agency inspected the 157 cells occupied at the time and found poor sanitary conditions in 83 of them, with clogged toilets and sinks and lack of water, which “can lead to health problems for both detainees and staff”.
Rebecca Sheff, an ACLU attorney who is following the case, says the report drew attention because it would have been the first time the Department of Homeland Security had recommended shutting down a detention center. “Conditions are terrible. Water is not potable, immigrants have to buy bottled water; baths have been rationed, food is often unpalatable, and access to medication, dentists and mental health services is difficult,” she says.
According to the lawyer, ICE agents rarely speak face-to-face with detainees, which makes it difficult to access information about the legal status of asylum or release requests.
Kesley has been in ICE custody since April 29. Sheff claims that he applied for asylum claiming to take risks in Brazil, but was denied. He appealed and was again denied in June, when a judge ordered his deportation — which did not happen until he was found unconscious in his cell on Aug. 17, when he was taken to the University of New Mexico hospital, where he died.
According to the ACLU, a July 2021 inspection by regulatory bodies of the detention centers also identified low staff numbers and found sanitation issues with food preparation. The report at the time noted that the center did not meet the standards necessary to operate, but noted that detainees who were interviewed said “they are treated with respect and feel safe”.
The place had already been denounced by groups that work with human rights and immigration in the state. “[A morte de Kesley] it is exactly what we feared would happen. Organizations have warned for years of the brutal and inhumane conditions in Torrance,” said in a statement, entities that monitor the situation of immigrants in the state. to make it difficult for the detainees to have access to lawyers, including those of Haitians caught in the migration crisis that shook the country last year.
Sought, Core Civic denied that it houses detainees in bad conditions. “Keeping people entrusted to our care safe is our top priority. We vehemently deny any allegations of mistreatment of detainees,” a company spokesperson told Sheetexpressing solidarity with the Brazilian family.
“Our employees work hard to keep those in our care safe while meeting their needs in the civil immigration process. Staff are trained and held to the highest ethical standards.”
Core Civic also states that all centers managed by the company are inspected by ICE and undergo regular audits. The company claims that this year it obtained accreditation from the National Prison Health Care Commission (NCCHC).
ICE did not comment on the allegations by human rights organizations. In a statement last week, the agency said it “is firmly committed to the health and well-being of everyone in its custody” and that it is conducting a comprehensive review of agency-wide processes following Kesley’s death.
The agency also said that deaths are statistically rare in relation to the total number of detainees and that it guarantees medical care as established by standards in the country, with availability 24 hours a day for emergency care.
