ESTANCIA, N.M. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico and the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center are suing a private prison company over the treatment of several immigrant detainees at the Torrance County Detention Center.
The groups announced the lawsuit Friday. It centers on the use of pepper spray by guards last year as the immigrants protested poor living conditions and what they said were inadequate COVID-19 precautions.
They also complained that updates on their immigration cases were being withheld. Detention center operator CoreCivic said it has followed federal guidelines regarding COVID-19 and that guards were forced to take action after the detainees became disruptive and ignored verbal orders.