NMILC Files Complaint Against Cibola County Correctional Center for Pepper Spray Attack on Immigrants
“…officers entered while yelling that we were criminals and why we didn’t just stay in our country. The officers were aggressive and did not check on any detainees. I begged for water while others were passing out from all the pain they were experiencing. There was no medic present to help us.”
–Cibola County Detention Center detainee
Contact: Sophia Genovese | sgenovese@nmilc.org | 505-895-2609
Albuquerque, NM – The New Mexico Immigrant Law Center (NMILC) filed a complaint against CoreCivic and the Cibola County Correctional Center for its recent pepper spray attack on people held in ICE detention at the facility. The redacted complaint is accessible here.
On or around November 18, 2023, several masked CoreCivic officials entered an ICE unit at Cibola and dispersed pepper spray gas in response to a demonstration by five individuals who were protesting inadequate food and water, and growing frustration with their delayed deportations despite having removal orders from several months prior. CoreCivic staff reportedly turned off the ventilation units during the attack. Men who were not involved in the demonstration attempted to protect themselves from the pepper spray by going into their rooms and covering their faces. Men report fainting, vomiting, bleeding, and burning sensations, despite their efforts to avoid the conflict.
After the demonstrators were removed from the unit, the men who had not been involved in the demonstration were forced to remain in the pepper-sprayed unit. The men were denied access to adequate medical care, denied the ability to shower, and forced to sleep overnight in the chemicals sprayed into the unit. More than three weeks after the attack, men continue to experience ongoing symptoms and psychological harm from the incident.
A victim from the attack reports, “officers entered while yelling that we were criminals and why we didn’t just stay in our country. The officers were aggressive and did not check on any detainees. I begged for water while others were passing out from all the pain they were experiencing. There was no medic present to help us.”
Another victim reports “I have been getting headaches every day since the incident. My nose bleeds. I have asthma and I feel like it is worse now. My eyes burn […] I was punished for something that I did not do. Ever since that incident, I am always afraid. I can’t sleep well; I don’t trust anyone because I was gassed for something that I did not do, and I don’t know what could happen to me next.”
After NMILC filed the complaint on Saturday, December 9, CoreCivic officials reportedly gave some medical examinations of the victims – more than three weeks after the attack.
This incident and mistreatment occur almost simultaneously with ongoing reports and concerns for the safety of immigrants at another CoreCivic facility, the Torrance County Detention Facility. Senator Martin Heinrich in a recent letter about Torrance writes, “I am growing exceedingly frustrated that my concerns have not been addressed, and today, I received a report from legal service advocates about a November 14, 2023, flood of raw sewage containing visible human excrement in two housing units, covering half of the unit's cells and a significant portion of the unit's common area. The sewage flowed into a floor drain in the facility's dining area.”
In a signed demand letter, detainees at Torrance recently declared, “We believe that the US immigration system against immigrants is inhumane; our dreams are being murdered, of us men and women who came to this country to be able to live longer […] The world will only see worse and worse disasters and harms to people detained if something major is not done about what is happening at the Estancia correctional facility in New Mexico. Families separated; men deteriorated by a slow death that in the eyes of no one are being seen. We ask for help, to be heard. We want to live.”
The New Mexico Immigrant Law Center is a non-profit organization seeking to advance justice and equity by empowering low-income immigrant communities through collaborative legal services, advocacy, and education.