NMILC Files Civil Rights Complaint Against Cibola County Correctional Center & ICE El Paso Field Office
Complaint cites multiple counts of medical neglect, physical abuse, and due process violations against a Nicaraguan asylum seeker.
Media Contact: Flaviano Graciano, fgraciano@nmilc.org
8|16|2022
Albuquerque, N.M. - Today, the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center (NMILC) filed a Civil Rights & Civil Liberties complaint to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on behalf of Edgar Garrido Diaz, a Nicaraguan asylum seeker currently detained at the Cibola County Correctional Center (CCCC). The complaint alleges that both CCCC and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Field Office in El Paso, Texas, have neglected to provide proper medical care to Garrido Diaz after he injured his ankle and have ignored numerous cries for help and medical attention.
The complaint also alleges physical abuse in the form of water and food withholding and forcing Garrido Diaz to move without his walker, and with tight ankle shackles on, during an attempted deportation. After the attempted deportation failed, Garrido Diaz was taken to a hospital where he was informed his ankle was fractured, he was denied copies of the x-rays according to the complaint. In addition, the complaint alleges that Garrido Diaz was exposed to COVID-19 due to lack of safety precautions on behalf of CCCC & ICE officials, leading to him contracting the virus and being left to quarantine alongside other sick individuals without any medical attention. ICE & CCCC have refused to provide data on COVID-19 infections.
Furthermore, the complaint alleges multiple ways in which CCCC & ICE have violated Garrido Diaz’s right to due process in his court proceedings, including forcing Garrido Diaz to go through his asylum proceedings in detention even after being classified as medically vulnerable by ICE and not providing him with language accessible documentation or a translator to apply for asylum.
A copy of the complaint and images of Edgar can be found here.
Edgar Garrido Diaz, Nicaraguan asylum seeker and complaint plaintiff, said:
“I would like people to know what's happening to me because what I am living through is not easy, it's inhumane. I imagine many others detained here are living through the same inhumane conditions. We’re people just like anyone else, we should have the same rights as everyone else. Unfortunately, here, our rights don’t matter. ”
Sophia Genovese, Senior Attorney at the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, said:
“Here we are again: calling out medical neglect, significant mistreatment and discrimination against BIPOC immigrants, and due process violations that plague detained immigration proceedings. We hope this complaint to the CRCL Office at DHS and the newly created Detention Ombudsman finally creates accountability for the systemic and widespread human rights violations that occur at Cibola, and throughout the El Paso ICE area of responsibility. More than that, we demand the release of Mr. Garrido Diaz, reparations for the abuses he has endured, and access to full and fair asylum proceedings.”
Emily Bruell, Asylum Legal Fellow at the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, said:
"The abuse and neglect Edgar suffered in ICE detention is appalling, made doubly horrifying by the fact that the El Paso ICE Field Office continues to deny the discretionary release of Edgar and hundreds of other asylum seekers just like him from detention centers in New Mexico. By denying Edgar release time and time again, ICE is jeopardizing Edgar's physical and mental health. This prolonged detention, coupled with significant due process violations, were directly responsible for Edgar not being able to effectively represent himself in his asylum proceedings. There is no justification for ICE not to have released Edgar, who has a large family and community willing to support him upon release from ICE detention. Edgar's situation is unfortunately not unique; however, it saliently underscores the direct and brutal human costs of a carceral immigration system, which has the exclusive goals of detaining and deporting as many people as possible, as quickly as possible."
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New Mexican Immigrant Law Center's mission is to advance justice and equity by empowering low-income immigrant communities through collaborative legal services, advocacy, and education. You can find more about NMILC online at nmilc.org.