From Xiuy Soto, NM Youth Justice Coalition:
"We are here to share the stories from inside and shed light on the system that has operated with impunity for far too long. We are here to stand up against an insidious criminalization of our youth from our city by Sheriff John Allen, DA Sam Bregman, and Gov. Michelle Lujan. Grisham. We are here today to remind everyone that young people are New Mexico's greatest national resources, and that the youth are not the problem but are in fact the solution to the problems facing our state and our city. We stand with the youth inside BCYSC who protested the inhumane treatment on Christmas Day, and remind everyone that even children and young people accused of these crimes have rights and are deserving of dignity and opportunities for rehabilitation and restoration. We call on law enforcement and elected officials to accept the same accountability they are demanding from these teenagers, from these kids, and from these youth."
From Alexis Piña, formerly incarcerated and systems impacted youth:
"Although I did a little over three years at the detention center I have seen a lot of very concerning things happen there. In my first two weeks that I had been placed into custody I was stripped searched 14 times but the strip searches didn’t get fewer from there. They only became a part of my daily routine. I had been stripped and searched so many times so often that I could undress and squat and cough under 2 minutes. When I got released from the juvenile detention center and went to a rehab center they said they had to search me and I started undressing and when they told me to stop I realized that it wasn't normal for me to undress. I have been stripped searched approximately a total of 150 times in the three years that I was there. On more than one occasion I was the only female resident in the facility but because I was the only female resident in the facility they could just wake me up whenever and take me to the intake holding cells. It didn't matter the time of day as long as it wasn’t during shift change. If I’m being totally honest here while I was in the intake holding cells I never knew what day it was or what time it was because I could never come out of the cell and my cell doesn’t have any windows, just the one on the door. Even though I was in an intake holding cell the lights never turned off and they got magnets that cover the cell doors. When they would cover my window to my holding cell for whatever reason I would lose track of time. When I would be placed into the intake holding cells I always had to use the bathroom beforehand because I never knew if I would get a chance to come out and use the bathroom again because of this I wasn’t eating properly or taking in any fluids. On Christmas Day of 2022 I had to wait more then 2 hours before I could use the bathroom again or get any type of fluids. No matter how hard I would scream or kick or hit my door to be let out so I could use the bathroom nobody ever cared they just let me almost pee myself. On Christmas Day of 2022 there were only three staff in the whole building. I could hear a kid yelling to be let out because he was going to use the bathroom in his pants, and the staff would just ignore him. When he would go to use the bathroom in his holding cell, they would get upset, tell him that he’s gonna get written up for using the bathroom in his room and that he needs to wait."
From Vanessa Hulliger, Stronger Together, Never Alone NM:
"Education is a fundamental right, yet our children are often deprived of it. School is frequently canceled, denying them the chance to learn and grow. And it doesn't stop there. Visits from parents and families, which are crucial for their emotional well-being, are also regularly canceled, leaving these children feeling isolated and abandoned. When staffing allows family visits, children are often subjected to strip searches after the visit is completed. Strip searches are invasive and dehumanizing, especially when conducted on children. The delays in mail delivery further exacerbates their sense of detachment from the outside world. Imagine waiting anxiously for a letter from a loved one, only to have it withheld for an indefinite period of time. The conditions inside the detention center are deplorable. Dirty laundry, smelling of urine and mildew, adds to the indignity our children face. Reports of physical and mental abuse-from staff are distressing and unacceptable. Meals are often served hours late, leaving children hungry and uncertain of when their next nourishment will arrive...Stronger Together, Never Alone believes that unconditional love and support of our children is a core value. Our kids are not throwaways, they are not disposable. They deserve our unwavering care and attention, especially in challenging times like these. We will continue to be the voice our children so desperately need."
From Erik Rivera, La Plazita Institute:
"My job is to support our youth, the families, and communicate their needs to the system and provide support for the young people transitioning back into their own communities from detention. My observations and experiences have shown a trend of limited programming for the youth inside of the detention center, not just from my organization but that of other service providers and program facilitators. The things shared with me in confidence echo that young people are not getting outside and often kept from programming because staffing is inadequate. My understanding based on conversations with youth and families and my own observation are that youth are kept in isolation for up to 20 hours a day. I am an advocate for accountability, transparency, and community oversight. have seen a decline in staff as well as youth and understand that this decline would lead to a bad outcome. I am in full support of the list of demands presented here by the community, and I stand with the mothers and advocates of the children currently detained."
From Lalita Moskowitz ACLU-NM:
“It’s time we rethink how we approach public safety in New Mexico. Incarcerating youth undermines public safety, damages young people’s physical and mental health, impedes their educational and career success, and often exposes them to abuse,” said Lalita Moskowitz, litigation manager at the ACLU of New Mexico. “The youth detention center conditions that have recently been reported raise serious civil rights concerns, in addition to the moral failing those conditions represent. We need to move away from a fear-based approach in public safety and instead toward a solutions-based vision that inspires hope in New Mexico. New Mexicans want treatment over punishment, resources not prisons, and alternatives to incarceration that keep families whole.”
From Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa:
It is the county’s responsibility to provide appropriate staff, a clean facility, access to education, hot meals, and a facility that these pre-adjudicated youth (charged but not yet convicted) deserve while they are in our care. The county is not stepping back on their commitment to try and make sure that our young people have clean, safe, and dignified facilities while under our care. I commit to holding our county accountable, and will be closely looking at this and actively involved and working towards further accountability and that parents involvement is appreciated and welcome and that youth service professionals and organizations are involved in this measure of accountability. This is a place where the adults are responsible for providing the care that we have been given tax payer dollars to do so. We need to be the ones to resolve this issue, not point towards youth as the problem. It is not the responsibility of our young people or their parents to ensure solutions that our city’s problems are placed on their laps. Know that I will not allow for further actions such as this, we need to be staffed appropriately. I am committed to working with families, communities and youth within our care to create solutions within the county level.
Senator Linda Lopez, Senate District 11:
I am here today to publicly state that I am dismayed at our Governors Public Health order that suspended juvenile detention alternatives health initiative. It was v concerning, especially when talking about our youth and the services that they need. Must be willing and able to provide alternatives and services for these youth and their families. Interventions are proven to make a difference. NM has been down this road before with juvenile justice services for many years and we don’t need to go backwards. We need to work with our Children Youth and Families Department as accountability and oversight for compliance with the issues that have been described here by the families. I stand here today with community, families and advocates as they demand for the accountability services for their children to be provided and also for transparency. | 
