A group of Venezuelan migrants housed in Otero County Processing Center filed a petition in federal district court to question the legality of their detainment. 

The migrants filed a petition in September for writ of habeas corpus, which means they are asking the court to consider if their detainment by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement is lawful. The migrants allege that they have been illegally detained indefinitely due to the political impasse between the U.S. government and Venezuela. They allege that their due process rights under the Fifth Amendment have been violated as well as their rights under the Immigration and Nationality Act. 

At least two of the petitioners have waited more than 180 days in detention since the U.S. made the individuals’ removal orders final, according to the legal brief. The petitioners are asking that ICE release them to live with family or friends who are already legally living in the U.S. 

A spokesperson for U.S. ICE said through email that the agency does not comment on pending litigation. 

One of the petitioners, who used his first name only, said through the news release that his experience at Otero County Processing Center has been “very bad” and that he feels like “a prisoner.”

“I should be given the opportunity to get out and show that I am a family man, not a criminal like they [ICE] think I am. That is why I would like to submit this petition, because there are many of us here who are family men and we suffer,” Leonel said through the release. 

According to the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, one of the individuals petitioning for release was put into solitary confinement in retaliation for coordinating a hunger strike after deportation officers pressured the individuals to agree to be removed to Mexico. Several people were allegedly placed into solitary confinement for the hunger strike.

“Since its opening in 2008, Otero has subjected thousands of asylum seekers to inhumane conditions, inadequate medical care and due process violations,” ACLU-NM said in the release.

Otero County Processing Center is operated by for-profit MTC. While the petitioners are not suing the company, they did name an employee of the company in the suit. Allegations have been made in the past against MTC. The family of a migrant who died by suicide while housed at Otero County Processing Center filed a lawsuit earlier this year over the death of the individual and what the family called inhumane conditions, civil rights violations and negligent healthcare. 

Related: Family of Otero County inmate sues for negligent healthcare

Emily Lawhead, director of communications for MTC, said in an email to NM Political Report that MTC “is not involved in deciding whether any individual should be detained or released.”

“With respect to allegations made by advocacy groups outside of the petition, MTC denies the claim that any detainee was placed in restricted housing as a form of retaliation and also denies the claim that any detainee experienced inhumane conditions, received inadequate medical care, or was denied due process at the Otero County Processing Center,” she said through email.

The U.S. and the European Union and other countries have refused to recognize Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro since a disputed presidential Venezuelan election was held in July. Many claim his opponent, Edmundo González, won by a wide margin. González sought asylum in Spain and recently conceded the election, though he said he did so under duress, according to the BBC news. According to the news release, 4,379 Venezuelans were detained by U.S. ICE as of March 2024 and that is one of the largest nationalities being detained. 

Relations between the U.S. and Venezuela have led to a halt on deportations, according to the petition. The four Venezuela individuals who filed the petition passed their credible fear interviews last year but were ordered by the U.S. government to be deported. The four individuals agreed to their deportation but have, instead, been forced to wait in Otero County Processing Center, a detention center located in Chaparral. 

The respondents have all been held at Otero County Processing Center since late 2023. According to the petition, a political stalemate has existed between the U.S. and Venezuela for a number of years while thousands of Venezuelans linger in U.S. detention centers. According to the document, the U.S. implemented economic sanctions against Venezuela prior to the country’s July election and, in response, Venezuela has refused to accept deportation flights from the United States.