Introduction

Immigrant detention in the United States refers to the thousands of immigrants daily who are held in detention across the United States, whether in facilities built for immigrant detention, prisons, or jails. A majority of ICE detainees are imprisoned in for-profit prisons. 

The United States has the largest immigrant detention system in the world. It continues to be funded at high levels and prioritized by leaders of both the Republican and Democratic parties.

A majority of immigrants in detention are held for reasons related to their immigration status. As of March 10th, 2024, 66.9% of immigrants in detention have no criminal record, while a portion of the remaining percent have been convicted for traffic violations or other nonviolent offenses. 

Those in ICE detention stay there for unpredictable periods of time.  They suffer the effects of imprisonment and isolation with the added uncertainty of case proceedings. Our goal as visitor volunteers is to provide them a source of outside connection and to be observers and advocates for them. 

Torrance County Detention Facility in Estancia, New Mexico, and Cibola County Correctional Center in Milan, New Mexico are both New Mexico prisons that are run by the private prison company CoreCivic and who hold immigrants for ICE. VIDA connects with immigrants in these facilities, each about an hour away from Albuquerque (Torrance to the southeast and Cibola to the west) to visit and support them.  

In addition to supporting those in detention at Torrance and Cibola, VIDA collaborates with Casa de Paz in Aurora, Colorado to share a list of immigrants in detention at centers all over the country.  We match volunteers with immigrants to write to based on the languages that they can write or on how many people have requested a correspondent.  Currently we have many more immigrants on our list than we have volunteers who can write. Below are a number of resources and training materials that will help you to be an informed VIDA volunteer.