Welcome, you reached the homepage of Advocate Visitors with Immigrants in Detention (AVID) in the Chihuahuan Desert. We are distinct from the UK migrant visitation program with a similar name. Centered in Las Cruces, with volunteers in El Paso and surrounding communities, AVID in the Chihuahuan Desert is a migrant rights advocacy and immigration detention visitation organization. Our activities entail:
- visiting individuals confined in immigration detention
- corresponding with detained migrants as pen pals
- advocating for immigrant’s rights, and
- working to end immigration detention.
As tens of thousands of individuals are confined in immigration detention every day, we are always seeking additional volunteers to help end the isolation of confinement. Please participate in our current action items.
Current Press Releases
- Indian Asylum Seekers on Hunger Strike at El Paso and Otero Threatened with Force Feeding and Retaliation (7/22/2019) - July 22, 2019 Indian asylum seekers are on prolonged hunger strike demanding their freedom. At El Paso four men 14 days without food told force-feeding orders being sought today. At Otero 4 men 7 days without food report severe verbal retaliation and threats. El Paso Hunger Strike Four asylum seekers from India who began a ... Read moreIndian Asylum Seekers on Hunger Strike at El Paso and Otero Threatened with Force Feeding and Retaliation
- Day 10 of hunger strike, men moved to problematic El Paso detention center, involuntary force feeding imminent (7/18/2019) - Last evening, July 17, the four asylum seekers on hunger strike at the Otero County Processing Center (OCPC) were moved to the El Paso Service Processing Center (EPSPC). This transfer is a common pattern with prolonged hunger strikes at OCPC, a facility that, in the last year, has seen more than 100 hunger strikes. At ... Read moreDay 10 of hunger strike, men moved to problematic El Paso detention center, involuntary force feeding imminent
- July 14, Five Men Currently on Hunger Strike for Their Freedom (7/15/2019) - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 14, 2019 Media Contacts: Margaret Brown Vega and Nathan Craig avid@chihuahuan.org Chronic Hunger Strikes at Otero County Processing Center, New Mexico Chaparral, NM: As of July 9, 2019, five men at the Otero County Processing Center (OCPC) are on hunger strike seeking their freedom from prolonged ICE detention. By the 15th, ... Read moreJuly 14, Five Men Currently on Hunger Strike for Their Freedom
