LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Letters from the Torrance County Detention Facility
Editor鈥檚 note: Immigrants who are being detained at the Torrance County Detention Facility recently sent the Journal a collection of sketches, documents and hand-written letters about their living conditions. The Journal also received an 鈥渙fficial statement鈥� from the detainees at the facility, which was signed by around 200 inmates. The letters were translated from Spanish to English using artificial intelligence and lightly edited.
Official statement by detainees kidnapped by ICE
To the people of the United States, to national and international media, and the authorities of this nation:
Today we raise our voices not as numbers, not as statistics, but as what we truly are: human beings.
We firmly denounce that the current operations against immigrants in the United States are not driven by security concerns or legitimate operational needs.
What we are experiencing is something else: a system that has turned human suffering into a business model. We have been reduced to "merchandise" but we declare with dignity: We are not merchandise 鈥� we are lives, families and stories.
What is happening today 鈥� this system of mass detentions, this institutionalized human trafficking 鈥� will go down in history as one of the most shameful chapters this nation has ever faced.
The vast majority of us have no criminal record. Only a very small percentage does, and it is widely known that (this includes) fabricated charges by institutions that are meant to uphold the law, not manipulate it.
We are being held in high-security prisons, under punitive conditions, without the right to bail 鈥� a direct contradiction to the fundamental principles of the United States Constitution.
Today we denounce something even more alarming: institutions weakened and subordinated to political interests, a minority driven by racism and economic power dictating the fate of thousands.
Fundamental rights are being eroded today. The Fifth Amendment is imprisoned, the First Amendment is mortally wounded, and the Constitution itself is in danger.
This is not only a struggle; this is a call to the conscience of the nation. We urgently call upon all citizens to defend democracy, to stand on the side of the Constitution, and to refuse to be complicit 鈥� through silence or indifference 鈥� in the suffering of millions of human beings.
Families are being separated without just cause. Civil rights are being violated without justification. And human dignity is being ignored. Now more than ever, we ask: What does it truly mean to make America great if not by defending justice, freedom and humanity?
History will judge. And we will not remain silent.
Rogelio Bolufo Izquierdo
Cuba
(signed by around 200 detainees)
Court system offers little opportunity
I am detained in a high-security prison; it is not a center nor anything similar. I am already detained, deprived of my freedom without hope. The judges at this center are military (types) who do not follow any legal immigration procedures. All the detainees here are appealing because they are deported in the courts without being given the right to apply for anything. It is very difficult. They treat us badly. The courts are by video. If you send documents to the court ... those who are fighting (their cases) have no opportunity. ... Thank you, I hope for your help.
By Sadel Guevara Javes
Cuba
Provider away from young family
They keep us in a high-rigor prison with the same cells; the treatment is the same, the same food. They transferred us from El Paso, Texas, on March 11. They have not given us access to pro-bono lawyers. On April 21, I will have been detained for seven months. Recreation is one hour a day. I have a wife and three girls for whom I am the provider鈥攐ne is 11 years old, the other is 5 years old, and the third is 9 months old, whom I only met for two hours. I have no criminal record.
By Reinier Hernandez Garit
Cuba (resident of Odessa, Texas, since September 2021)
Mail isn鈥檛 functioning
The postal service is not functioning or is functioning very poorly. ... This is fatal for us (ICE prisoners) because we cannot receive essential evidence for our defense in a timely manner, nor send vital documents like appeals and habeas corpus petitions.
Signed by 25 detainees from Venezuela, Senegal, Cameroon, Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Cuba.
Can鈥檛 get necessary form
I have been trying for three months to obtain my A-File (Alien File) and my detention record, as is my right according to the National Detainee Manual, page 31. Three months is too much time. It is urgent for administrative procedures.
Rogelio Bolufo Izquierdo
Cuba
Not enough water
They only bring drinking water twice a day. In some cases three, but the container is small and not enough. We spend [the day] very thirsty. ... No water at lunch, dinner or bedtime.
-Signed by around 15 detainees.
