Report Shows Federal Bureau of Prisons Incentivizes Mistreatment, Shields Immigrant Prisons from Scrutiny

 
ALBUQUERQUE, NM – The Cibola County Correctional Center in Milan, NM, is one of the 13 little-known CAR (Criminal Alien Requirement) prisons for immigrants in the United States. For the new report Warehoused and Forgotten: Immigrants Trapped in Our Shadow Private Prison Industry, the ACLU and the ACLU of Texas have investigated one CAR prison in Texas run by the Corrections Corporation of America, the same private prison company that operates the Cibola County Correctional Center in New Mexico. The report reveals inhumane conditions and egregious mistreatment of immigrants in prisons that enrich the for-profit prison industry at tremendous costs to taxpayers.
 
“Every year we incarcerate thousands of immigrants at the cost of millions of tax-dollars that line the pockets of for-profit prison corporations like the Corrections Corporation of America,” said ACLU-NM Regional Center for Border Rights Director Vicki Gaubeca. “These are not dangerous criminals, they are simply people who entered the United States without authorization in the hopes for a better future for their children. Yet, we allow prison corporations to warehouse these people in facilities rife with abuse and neglect.”
 
The culmination of a four-year investigation, the report shows how the federal Bureau of Prisons incentivizes private prison companies to keep CAR prisons overcrowded and understaffed. The companies provide scant medical care that is often administered incorrectly, if delivered at all. CCA,
 
As Carl Takei, Staff Attorney at the ACLU’s National Prison Project, explained, “The shameful conditions inside CAR prisons come from the government’s decision to allow the suffering inside these for-profit prisons. For instance, 10% of the bed space in CAR prisons is reserved for extreme isolation—nearly double the rate in normal federal prisons. I spoke to prisoners who spent weeks in isolation cells after being sent there upon intake—simply arriving at prison was the reason why they were locked in a cell and fed through a slot for 23 hours a day.”
 
CAR prisons hold non-citizens who have been convicted of crimes in the U.S., mostly for immigration offenses (such as unlawfully reentering the country).
 
Read the report: https://www.aclu.org/warehoused-and-forgotten-immigrants-trapped-our-shadow-private-prison-system
 
 

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ALBUQUERQUE, NM—Today, Albuquerque community leaders and a broad spectrum of New Mexico-based organizations announced the launch of the APD Forward campaign, a community-driven effort to hold the City of Albuquerque and the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) accountable for implementing reforms of the city’s police department. APD Forward will serve as a powerful, targeted platform for Albuquerque communities to press for sustainable reforms of APD policies and procedures.

 
“The time has come for communities across the city to join together in pressing for crucial reforms so APD officers can safely and responsibly protect the people of Albuquerque,” said ACLU of New Mexico Executive Director Peter Simonson. “This is our best opportunity in decades to move the APD and our city forward so that the people of Albuquerque can believe in their police department again.”
 
In recent weeks, a Department of Justice’s (DOJ) investigation confirmed that longstanding deficiencies in oversight, training and polices have allowed a culture of aggression and a sense of impunity to thrive within the Albuquerque Police Department. APD officers frequently use excessive force against people who pose a minimal threat, including those who are unarmed or suffering from mental illness. To help fix these serious issues, the APD Forward campaign will use advocacy, community organizing, and public education to accomplishing the following four objectives:
 

1. Achieve a court enforced agreement between the Department of Justice and the Albuquerque Police Department that ensures that the reforms we need are fully implemented.
2. Obtain the appointment of a qualified, independent monitoring team to oversee compliance with the court-ordered agreement.
3. Ensure that the City of Albuquerque dedicates adequate resources to fully fund the necessary reforms.
4. Obtain sustained evidence that the City of Albuquerque and APD is complying with the reform agreement and taking real, concrete steps to address the problems uncovered by the Department of Justice investigation.

 
“Right now, many Albuquerque residents are justifiably angry that the political process has failed to bring about long overdue reforms to our police department,” said Strong Families Field Director Adriann Barboa. “The APD Forward campaign is dedicated to addressing the systemic problems within our police department that were highlighted by the Department of Justice. These problems are daunting, but we know they can be fixed if we work together.”
 
For more news and campaign updates, visit APD Forward online at www.APDforward.org, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/APDforward, and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/APDforward.
 

APD Forward Partners

 
Organizations
Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless
American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico
Disability Rights New Mexico
Equality New Mexico
La Mesa Presbyterian Church
League of Women Voters of Central New Mexico
National Association of Social Workers – New Mexico Chapter
Native American Voters Alliance
New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
Strong Families
 
Individuals
Fabrizio Bertoletti – former Police Oversight Task Force member
Rev. Susan Allison-Hatch – Missionary to the Homeless, Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande
 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 30, 2014
CONTACT: Rachel Nusbaum, 202-417-7547, [email protected]
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Customs and Border Protection released a report on the agency’s use of force policies and practices completed over a year ago by a respected independent think tank, the Police Executive Research Forum, along with a revised Use of Force Policies Handbook that incorporates the report’s recommendations. The release comes after public pressure from border communities and on the heels of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by the ACLU.
The report includes a review of 67 cases between January 2010 and October 2012. At least 28 people have died since January 2010 as a result of lethal force encounters with CBP officials. Ten of these individuals were confirmed U.S. citizens, and six, including three minors, were standing in Mexico when fatally shot. At least nine people were allegedly throwing rocks when CBP personnel responded with lethal force. The report also includes recommendations for how CBP can revise its use of force policy to reduce fatalities and abuses, while bringing its practices into line with best law enforcement practices.
“The release of these two documents hopefully heralds a new and welcomed age of transparency for the agency,” said Vicki Gaubeca, director of the ACLU of New Mexico's Regional Center for Border Rights. “It will still be important to see how these revised policies on use of force are translated into training and the agency will require monitoring to ensure that agents who violate these new policies are held accountable. Also, we hope that there will be more transparency in future use-of-force investigations and closure is still need for the family members of previous use of force incidents, such as in the cases of Sergio Adrian Hernandez Guereca, Anastacio Hernandez Rojas, and Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez.”
“The revised policies issued today are a step in the right direction,” said Ruthie Epstein, policy analyst at the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office. “But on their own, they will not be enough. CBP should take further steps to ensure accountability and transparency. Equipping Border Patrol agents with body-worn cameras will ensure an unbiased record and allow the agency and the community to ensure that these new and improved policies are fully implemented in practice, as well as on paper.”
The ACLU’s recommendations regarding use of force are available here: https://www.aclu.org/immigrants-rights/aclu-use-force-recommendations-cbp-officers
The report is available here: http://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/PERFReport.pdf
The new use of force handbook is available here: http://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/UseofForcePolicyHandbook.pdf