A Day of Remembrance, One Year Later
PHOTO BY KERRY SHERCK
It’s been more than a year since Brazilian immigrant Kesley Vial took his own life at the Torrance County Detention Facility. This tragic event has certainly not been forgotten by staunch immigration activists and groups like NMILC, who gathered in August for a Day of Remembrance, to once again reflect on the loss of Vial and reaffirm focus on the continued mistreatment of people being held at the facility — yes, it is still in operation.
“Right now, there is a lot of pressure at the federal level to not seem friendly to immigrants, to control the situation at the border,” said NMILC’s Sophia Genovese. “They are fighting really, really hard to keep that facility open, and we’ve seen them change the way the facility operates to frustrate advocacy efforts.”
Genovese also recently spoke to New Mexico in Focus, calling the facility a “credible fear interview factory,” adding details on the many abuses at the facility, including unsafe and unsanitary conditions, mental and physical abuse, inadequate food and processing violations.
“If you do not pass that credible fear interview screening, you are swiftly deported, and there is no judicial review of these determinations,” she added. “It’s completely depriving asylum seekers of the right to seek asylum of due process.”