Advocacy

Immigrant Safety Act - Short Documentary

VIDA: Volunteers for Immigrants in Detention-Albuquerque is 100% behind HB 9, The Immigrant Safety Act.  It is currently going through the legislative process as of March 1st, 2025.

Here is the VIDA statement on the Immigrant Safety Act: 

VIDA is a group of volunteers that provides social support to immigrants in New Mexico’s detention facilities. We have made more than 60 visits to Torrance County Detention Facility and Cibola County Correctional Center since 2022. We talk to the people detained there and try to comfort them and let them know they’re not alone. And we listen to their stories. By doing this, we hear a lot about the way that they are treated in detention. They talk about being cursed at by guards, about not having access to clean water to drink, about substandard food, about delayed and inadequate medical care, and about being put in solitary confinement if they admit they are depressed. Recently we met a man at Torrance who had been separated from his wife and three children. He was devastated and longing to be reunited with his family. New Mexico does not have to allow its local governments to facilitate these human rights abuses. We urge you to pass the Immigrant Safety Act and get New Mexico out of the business of immigrant detention.