The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico on Thursday announced it had reached a wrongful death settlement with private prison operator CoreCivic following the 2022 suicide of a Brazilian asylum seeker at the company’s detention facility in Estancia.
Kesley Vial, 23, died by suicide in August 2022 at the Torrance County Detention Facility, which CoreCivic owns and operates. The facility is one of three in New Mexico in which the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement houses detainees.
Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, in a lawsuit filed in September 2023, alleged that Vial’s death resulted from inadequate staffing at the facility, as well as failures by medical staff to place Vial under suicide watch as his mental health deteriorated.
According to the lawsuit, Vial grew increasingly desperate to be deported home to Brazil as ICE officials repeatedly prolonged his detention in Estancia. His depression and suicidal ideation noticeably worsened after he was inexplicably removed from a flight home to Brazil and returned to the facility four weeks before he died, according to the lawsuit.
Immigrant legal advocates, as well as U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) have repeatedly called on ICE to remove its detainees from the facility due to poor conditions. A month before Vial’s transfer to the facility, the U.S. Office of Inspector General issued a report demanding all detainees be removed due to “safety risks and unsanitary living conditions.”
A news release Thursday from the ACLU of New Mexico said CoreCivic agreed to pay a settlement to Vial’s estate, though attorneys said the size and terms of the settlement are confidential. A January state court filing confirms that parties in the lawsuit reached a settlement, though it does not provide further details.
“This settlement is a milestone in New Mexico and the nation, not only because Kesley’s loved ones deserve justice, but also because it sends a clear message that the harms that people face in immigration detention will not be tolerated,” said Becca Sheff, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of New Mexico, in a statement Thursday.
Brian Todd, a CoreCivic spokesperson, confirmed to Source NM on Thursday that a settlement had been reached but declined to comment further. In a response to the lawsuit, the company’s lawyers argued that jail staff could not have predicted or prevented Vial’s suicide.
Irlaine Vial, Vial’s cousin, said in the statement from the ACLU that Vial’s family misses him “deeply every single day.”
“While nothing can bring him back, we take some comfort in knowing that he will never be forgotten and that this case has brought us a sense of justice,” Irlaine Vial said. “Our hope is that no other family has to endure the same grief we have experienced.”
