ICE Detention Center for Women and Children in New Mexico?

Steve Ramirez writes for the Las Cruces Sun-News:

LAS CRUCES – Would it be a detention facility or a family residential center, as the development group pushing the plan refers to it?

Perhaps more importantly, would it be an economic boost for Las Cruces, or a dangerous, risky endeavor?

There are far more questions than answers among Las Cruces residents and city officials about a proposed facility on the city’s West Mesa where undocumented migrants would be kept.

“There’s still a lot of information out there that has to be gathered,” Mayor Ken Miyagishima said. “As a result, we will bring this issue up at the six City Council district meetings that are planned. We’ll then schedule at least two additional meetings after that, one of those at City Hall, and then go from there. Based on what we hear, we hope to be ready to make a decision about the facility by either late April or early May.”

Emily Carey, program coordinator for the Regional Center for Border Rights, in Las Cruces, said she supports efforts for more public participation on the proposal.

“Certainly, I would encourage greater public transparency, I would encourage a public hearing,” said Carey, a representative of the New Mexico chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. “I would encourage the City Council to exercise due diligence on this highly complex issue.” Click here for the rest of the story.

bh