ICE is disappearing people in New Mexico
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/new-mexico-ice-arrests-aclu-complaint-b2717442.html
Civil rights attorneys are sounding the alarm after 48 New Mexico residents “disappeared” after their arrests by federal immigration enforcement agents this month.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement “has not indicated where any of them are being detained, whether they have access to counsel, in what conditions they are being held, or even which agency is holding them,” according to a federal complaint from the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico.
They have been “effectively forcibly disappeared from our communities,” attorneys wrote.
At least 48 people ICE described as “illegal aliens” were arrested in a week-long series of operations in Albuquerque, Roswell, and Santa Fe earlier this month, according to the agency. But only 21 people had final orders of removal from the country.
“This is not just a procedural issue — it’s a serious human rights violation,” according to Rebecca Sheff, senior staff attorney at ACLU of New Mexico.
“When the government takes people into custody and then their whereabouts are unknown and they are unreachable, it places these individuals outside the protection of the law,” she said in a statement. “Families are left in agonizing uncertainty, desperate to contact their loved ones and ensure their safety. Enforced disappearances are prohibited by both our Constitution and international human rights standards.”