Crime after Crime

Aug 12 to Aug 18
Friday to Thursday 5:30pm Only!

Join us Saturday at The Guild Cinema for a special talk-back session with the director; moderated by ACLU-NM

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Today, the ACLU of New Mexico Regional Center for Border Rights (RCBR) released the report Outsourcing Responsibility: The Human Cost of Privatized Immigration Detention in Otero County detailing inhumane detention practices in the Otero County Processing Center in Chaparral, N.M. RCBR Program Coordinator Emily Carey, the report’s author, compiled the information from numerous site visits and over 40 interviews with current and past detainees.

Opened in 2008, the Otero facility has the capacity to house up to 1,086 immigrant detainees through an exclusive contract between Otero County and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Contract obligations are fulfilled by a subcontract with a for-profit, private prison company, Management and Training Corporation (MTC), which, in turn, subcontracts with Physicians Network Association (PNA) for health services. Both MTC and PNA have been sued in New Mexico and elsewhere for alleged negligence and deliberate indifference.

In fall of 2008, the ACLU of New Mexico Regional Center for Border Rights (ACLU-NM) began to receive complaints from detained immigrants in Otero alleging due process violations and inhumane conditions of confinement. In September 2009, ACLU-NM staff formalized these encounters and conducted a series of in-depth interviews with detained immigrants to better understand the conditions in which they are held. Despite ICE’s announcement in October 2009 to reform the immigration detention system, the ACLU continued its efforts to assess the daily reality of immigrants living in a privately operated facility. Though these findings focus on the Otero County Processing Center, they highlight the civil and human rights violations that often occur when the federal government cedes responsibility for civil immigration detention to private prison management companies. Transparency, oversight and accountability—and ultimately the civil and human rights of immigrants for whom the agency is responsible—are degraded in privatized detention center settings. As ICE continues to work towards reform, the increased reliance on private contractors to manage and operate ICE facilities must be re-evaluated. The voices in this report are indicative of why immigration detention reform was and is necessary, and the continued steps that are needed to ensure humane treatment of immigrants in detention.

There were five general areas of concern addressed in this report: (1) limited access to justice, (2) inadequate conditions of confinement, (3) insufficient medical and mental health care services, (4) extended ill effects on detainee’s family and community, and (5) needed improvements in accountability and oversight.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Yesterday, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico (ACLU-NM) filed a second lawsuit against the New Mexico Children Youth and Families Department (CYFD) for failing to implement key reforms in the juvenile justice system. In 2006, CYFD entered into a contract with ACLU-NM, agreeing to improve safety and mental health services for youth in its juvenile justice facilities. In 2007, ACLU-NM filed suit for breach of contract and reached a settlement agreement in late 2009. Now, one year later, conditions in CYFD facilities are still out of compliance with juvenile detention best practices and basic standards of safety.

“CYFD hasn’t lived up to the 2009 Agreement,” said ACLU-NM Executive Director Peter Simonson. “CYFD agreed to implement the Missouri model of juvenile detention and to change its policies and procedures before the end of 2010 to correct the biggest problems. Although there have been important improvements regarding mental health treatment, CYFD has not yet accomplished either of those promises.”

Under the terms of the 2009 settlement agreement, CYFD agreed to work with three neutral experts to ensure that reforms were implemented. The three experts all reported during November 2010 that many of the requirements of the agreement have not yet been achieved. Their reports show:

• CYFD has not yet implemented the Missouri model “Cambiar New Mexico” at all of its facilities;
• Twice, CYFD intentionally deceived the neutral medical monitor to give the false impression that CYFD had a quality improvement program that was effectively identifying and correcting problems with medical care;
• The Office of Quality Assurance (the system CYFD agreed to establish to ensure oversight and accountability) has not yet been fully established. Since 2009, the office conducted only two inspections, half its employee positions are vacant and it is not yet performing effectively;
• In violation of the agreed procedures, detention facility staff still lock youth in their rooms, including youth with mental disabilities;
• The administrators of the juvenile justice system are not effectively managing juvenile justice services.

The 2009 agreement is set to expire on December 31, 2010, but the ACLU of New Mexico is asking the court to extend the agreement so that youth in CYFD custody may actually reap the full benefits of the reforms.

“The ACLU would have sued earlier,” said Simonson, “But CYFD concealed from the neutral experts and from the ACLU a number of the deficiencies which were identified in the last month and a half. CYFD must be held accountable for the implementation of the agreed reforms; the well-being and safety of the youth in their custody depends on it.”

ACLU-NM Co-legal Director Phil Davis, ACLU-NM cooperating attorney Peter Cubra, and Alice Bussiere and Maria Ramiu of the Youth Law Center in San Francisco represent the plaintiff in this case.

2010 Complaint with Exhibit

Motion for Temporary Restraining Order

PRESS CONTACT: Micah McCoy, (505) 266-5915 Ext. 1003, or mmccoy@aclu-nm.org

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Sorry folks, a “God Pod” is not the latest Apple product; it is the nickname for a cell block in a correctional facility for religious inmates, usually of the fundamentalist Christian variety. These religiously-themed cell blocks began gaining popularity during the Bush administration as more and more government funding was made available for faith-based initiatives. Inmates in the “God Pods” conduct regular bible studies, worship services and participate in faith-based rehabilitation programs, usually led by an outside prison ministry.

Inmates in the “God Pods” tend to enjoy special privileges, such as access to a living area with comfy chairs and couches,  a library of Christian oriented videos and music, and other amenities such as microwaves that are not available in other, secular cell blocks. The waiting list to get in to the “God Pod” is usually quite long.

What’s troublesome about these “God Pods” is not the fact that there is religion inside our prisons—on the contrary, faith and faith-based organizations have done immeasurable good helping many inmates turn their lives around. And let us not forget that prisoners have the same constitutional right we all have to practice any religion or none at all.

The key words here are “any religion or none at all.” Coercing or even pressuring a prisoner to participate in religious rituals and programs is unconstitutional, and this kind of behavior should never be sanctioned by prison authorities. If we are to invite outside faith-based programs to come in to our prisons to work with inmates, we must be certain that participation is completely voluntary and that the religious observances—or lack thereof—of others is respected.

ACLU-NM is investigating one of New Mexico’s own “God Pods” right here in Albuquerque’s Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC). Cell block D-4—the “God Pod”—is ostensibly an interfaith initiative, where inmates participate in faith-based rehabilitation programs and other religious activities, but it is largely dominated by one local fundamentalist Christian prison ministry. Recently, a Jewish inmate was assigned to the “god pod” where fellow inmates and corrections officers threatened him with punishment when he refused to participate in Christian prayers and activities.

ACLU-NM is currently in conversation with MDC in order to determine how faith-based programs can continue to be offered to inmates in a way that is consistent with the First Amendment.

If you would like to learn more about “God Pods,” I highly suggest the article “Beyond the God Pod“ published in the Santa Fe Reporter in 2005.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 10, 2010

CONTACT: Micah McCoy, (505) 266-5915 Ext. 1003 or mmccoy@aclu-nm.org

LAS CRUCES, NM – The ACLU of New Mexico (ACLU-NM) and Disability Rights New Mexico (DRNM) settled their lawsuit against the Doña Ana County Detention Center (DACDC), securing essential mental health services for detainees. The settlement marks the end of a lawsuit brought as a class action by detainees who alleged that DACDC failed to provide adequate treatment for inmates with mental health disabilities. Under the terms of the settlement, DACDC will improve its intake screening process and provision of treatment, and it will modify segregation cell use as well as seclusion and restraint procedures to comply with constitutional standards and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“We are very pleased that Doña Ana County has agreed to take these important steps towards providing detainees with adequate mental health care,” said ACLU-NM Executive Director Peter Simonson. “These reforms will go a long way towards ensuring that detainees with mental disabilities are diagnosed and given proper care. We expect these changes to make the Doña Ana County Detention Center a safer and healthier facility.”

The settlement agreement mandates that DACDC implement standard screening procedures in its intake process in order to identify at the outset which detainees require treatment for mental disabilities. This will ensure that detainees receive immediate attention and avoid a deterioration of their condition that could put themselves, security staff and other detainees at risk. The agreement also requires that detainees with significant mental health disabilities be housed in a specialized mental health unit within the detention center and that they be supervised by corrections officers who have undergone special training regarding mental health issues.

A key achievement of the settlement was an assurance that placement in isolation cells — used inappropriately throughout the nation when dealing with detainees or inmates with mental disabilities — will not be used for detainees with mental disabilities unless all other less restrictive options have been exhausted. In addition, when physical restraint becomes necessary, corrections officers will only hold detainees until a trained medical professional is able to diagnose and administer treatment.

“Disability Rights New Mexico has been responding to concerns about inadequate mental health care in DACDC since 2004,” said Nancy Koenigsberg, DRNM Legal Director.  “DACDC is now required to maintain an adequate level of mental health services staffing.  It also has a continuum of care of mental health services in the facility, as well as provisions for transferring detainees to acute care out of the facility when clinically indicated.  These are very important services for detainees with mental disabilities. We also hope this may help with recidivism.”

A neutral expert in prison mental health care will be agreed upon by both parties and contracted to monitor and evaluate DACDC progress in the implementation of these reforms over the next two years. DRNM will oversee the monitoring process.

ACLU-NM Staff Attorney Brendan Egan, Disability Rights New Mexico Attorneys Nancy Koenigsberg and Tim Gardner, the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law and ACLU-NM Cooperating Attorneys George Bach, Peter Cubra and Michael Lilley represented the plaintiffs in this case.

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Related Documents:

Bravo Settlement