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Internal links (5): New Mexico inmate search, send money to New Mexico inmates, New Mexico reentry resources, Staying Connected hub, how prison works hub
Voice: Formerly-incarcerated narrator. Plain, direct, honest. Written to the family member on the outside.
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Family Rights and Advocacy in New Mexico | InmateAid
New Mexico is one of the few states in this series with a dedicated office built specifically for the families of incarcerated people: the New Mexico Corrections Department (NMCD) **Family Constituent Services and Correspondence Office**. It is the central point of contact between NMCD and inmate families, and it publishes an Offender Family Guidebook to help families navigate the system. Reach it at **(505) 827-8710**.
But New Mexico is also a state where the ACLU has two active lawsuits over conditions that directly affect families. In 2025, the ACLU of New Mexico sued NMCD over the Predatory Behavior Management Program (PBMP), which it calls unconstitutional long-term solitary confinement -- people held 23 hours a day, some for years. In 2026, the ACLU sued again over policies that ban books, magazines, and mail, arguing they violate the constitutional right to read. Both lawsuits describe harm to incarcerated people's relationships with their loved ones.
New Mexico also relies heavily on private prison operators (GEO Group, CoreCivic, and Management & Training Corporation), which means rules and contacts can vary by facility. And because women can only be housed at a small number of facilities, many incarcerated women are held far from home.
This guide covers the family office that exists, the communication and mail systems (including mail scanning by Smart Communications), and the organizations fighting for change.
NMCD: PO Box 27116, Santa Fe, NM 87502 | Family Services **(505) 827-8710** | cd.nm.gov
What Families Are Facing in New Mexico
New Mexico is a large, sparsely populated state, and NMCD operates a mix of state-run and privately operated facilities. Major facilities:
**State-run:**
- **Penitentiary of New Mexico (PNM)** -- 4331 State Hwy 14, Santa Fe (maximum security; houses the Predatory Behavior Management Program)
- **Central New Mexico Correctional Facility (CNMCF)** -- Los Lunas (medium; also the Reception and Diagnostic Center where everyone is first processed); Visitor Coordinator Michelle Bouska, (505) 383-3334; main (505) 383-3300
- **Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility (SNMCF)** -- Las Cruces
- **Roswell Correctional Center** -- Roswell (minimum)
- **Springer Correctional Center** -- Springer (women)
- **Western New Mexico Correctional Facility** -- Grants (has housed women)
**Privately operated (by GEO, CoreCivic, or MTC):**
- **Northeast New Mexico Correctional Facility (NENMCF)** -- Clayton (GEO; far northeastern NM; visitation (575) 472-1002)
- **Lea County Correctional Facility** -- Hobbs (GEO)
- **Guadalupe County Correctional Facility** -- Santa Rosa
- **Otero County Prison Facility (OCPF)** -- Chaparral (MTC; grievance officer (575) 824-4884 ext. 170)
**Women's housing**: Incarcerated women in New Mexico can only be housed at a small number of facilities (Springer, and historically Grants). Because of this, many women are held far from their families in Albuquerque or other population centers.
**Distance and the two-day visit**: New Mexico's distances are enormous. NENMCF in Clayton is so remote that the facility allows visitors the option of a two-day visit (two hours each day on consecutive days) to make the long trip worthwhile. If your loved one is far away, ask the facility about consecutive-day or special visit options.
On intake: everyone sentenced to NMCD first goes to the Reception and Diagnostic Center at Los Lunas for testing, evaluation, and classification, then is assigned to a facility by custody level. Custody level can change, and so can location -- your loved one may be transferred.
On phone: Securus is the named carrier (verify your facility's current vendor). Outbound calls only; prepaid accounts beat collect calls.
On mail: scanned by Smart Communications and delivered to tablets (see below). Notably, NMCD pays Smart Communications nothing -- the revenue comes from families.
On money: money order only, from someone on the approved visitor list, with the inmate's name and five-digit NMCD number.
On packages: Union Supply Direct (nminmatepackage.com) is the quarterly package provider.
Your Rights as a Family Member in New Mexico
Visitation rights
The process is initiated by the incarcerated person:
1. Your loved one must request that your name be placed on their visiting list
2. NMCD sends you a visiting application to complete fully and accurately
3. The application is reviewed and approved or denied per visiting guidelines
4. Once approved, your name is added to the list
5. **Visiting applications must be renewed every two years**
Visiting rules:
- Only one visit per week per inmate
- In-person visits Monday through Friday, scheduled at least a week in advance
- No weekend visits; visits on most holidays
- When scheduling, provide your name, phone number, inmate name and NMCD number, and the date/time requested
- Visitors are screened with an ION drug scan device (registers minute traces of drug residue)
- RDC (intake) inmates can visit with immediate family only
- Visitors traveling 500+ miles can request a Special Visit (form CD-100201.3)
- Two-day consecutive visits available at remote facilities like NENMCF
If your visiting privileges are suspended or terminated, you will be informed in writing and may appeal following the process in the Inmate Visitation policy (CD-100201).
Video visitation is available for approved visitors -- contact the facility directly to set it up.
Communication rights
Phone: Securus (verify your facility's vendor). Set up a prepaid account. Outbound calls only; your loved one cannot receive incoming calls. All calls recorded except legal calls.
Mail: scanned by Smart Communications and delivered digitally to tablets. Use the inmate's legal name and NMCD number. Books and magazines must come directly from a publisher or approved vendor.
Notification rights
NMCD is not required to notify family of transfers. Use the NMCD Offender Search at cd.nm.gov/offender-search (search by name, offender number, or NMCD number) to find your loved one's location. For general questions, contact Family and Constituent Services at (505) 827-8710. NMCD notifies next of kin for serious medical emergencies and deaths.
Health information
NMCD cannot release any medical or mental health information without a current, signed, and witnessed or notarized release from the incarcerated person. If you have concerns about your loved one's medical care, contact the Health Services Bureau at (505) 827-8628 -- but you will need that signed release to get specific information.
Grievance rights
Internal NMCD grievances must be filed by the incarcerated person through the inmate grievance process. Family members cannot file internal grievances directly. Note: in the PBMP solitary confinement lawsuit, one plaintiff reported being told that solitary confinement conditions were "not grievable" -- a serious due-process concern the ACLU is litigating.
External pathways for families:
- **Family and Constituent Services**: (505) 827-8710
- **Health Services Bureau** (medical concerns): (505) 827-8628
- ACLU of New Mexico: aclu-nm.org
- Your New Mexico state legislators at nmlegis.gov
The Family Constituent Services and Correspondence Office
Family Constituent Services and Correspondence Office
cd.nm.gov/services/offender-family-services
Phone: **(505) 827-8710**
This office is NMCD's dedicated point of contact for families. Its stated approach is family-focused: to support and encourage strong family and community ties that promote successful reentry, and to keep open lines of communication for general questions and concerns.
What it can do:
- Answer general questions about how the New Mexico corrections system works
- Reference department policy and make referrals to the right area of the Department
- Help when you feel you are not getting sufficient information (for example, about a release date)
What it cannot do:
- Provide specific information about an offender's status (those questions go to the institutional caseworker or the probation and parole field officer)
- Release medical or mental health information without a signed, notarized release from the incarcerated person
The office publishes the **Offender Family Guidebook** (revised 2023), a plain-language guide covering visitation, mail, money, marriage, medical care, and how to navigate the system. It is one of the more useful state family guides in the country. Find it at cd.nm.gov.
New Mexico Advocacy Organizations
ACLU of New Mexico
aclu-nm.org
P.O. Box 566, Albuquerque, NM 87103
Phone: (505) 266-5915
The ACLU of New Mexico is the leading prisoner-rights litigator in the state, and it currently has two active cases directly relevant to families:
1. **The PBMP solitary confinement lawsuit** (filed 2025): A class action challenging the Predatory Behavior Management Program at the Penitentiary of New Mexico as unconstitutional long-term solitary confinement. The lawsuit describes people held 23 hours a day in tiny cells, subjected to strip searches and outdoor cages in extreme temperatures, with inadequate mental health care -- about 200 people in the program. Managing attorney Lalita Moskowitz has called solitary confinement "torture."
2. **The publications/mail lawsuit** (filed 2026): A lawsuit alleging NMCD's policies banning books, magazines, and certain mail violate the constitutional right to read and to receive publications. The suit alleges these restrictions were imposed through unclear and sometimes unwritten policy, without notifying inmates or families.
If your loved one is in solitary confinement, being denied books or mail, or experiencing the conditions these lawsuits describe, the ACLU of New Mexico is the organization to contact. They do not take every individual case, but they are actively litigating these exact issues.
New Mexico Prison and Jail Project / Reentry organizations
New Mexico has a network of reentry and family support organizations. The Offender Family Guidebook and Family Constituent Services (505-827-8710) can connect you to current local resources, including parenting programs, transportation help, and reentry services.
Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM)
famm.org
National network including New Mexico families. For families with loved ones serving excessive mandatory sentences.
Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC)
humanrightsdefensecenter.org
Phone (for family members): 561-360-2523
HRDC, the publisher of Prison Legal News, has actively litigated in New Mexico -- including winning a public-records case to pry loose documents about the state's privatized prison healthcare contractor. HRDC advocates on prison communication costs, mail scanning, and publications access -- all live issues in New Mexico. Family members can contact directly.
Prisoner Rights Organizations Families Can Contact on Their Loved One's Behalf
ACLU of New Mexico
aclu-nm.org | (505) 266-5915
The leading prisoner-rights litigator in the state. Currently litigating solitary confinement (PBMP) and book/mail bans. For constitutional conditions issues, solitary confinement, denial of publications, or documented patterns of abuse.
New Mexico Law Offices of the Public Defender
lopd.nm.gov
For appeals and post-conviction matters in New Mexico.
New Mexico Legal Aid
newmexicolegalaid.org
Phone: 1-833-545-4357
Free civil legal services for low-income New Mexicans. Can assist with civil matters related to incarceration and provide referrals.
Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC)
humanrightsdefensecenter.org | 561-360-2523
For communication cost issues, mail scanning, and publications access. Has an established litigation record in New Mexico.
The Mail and Solitary Confinement Issues: What New Mexico Families Should Know
Mail scanning by Smart Communications
Since 2022, New Mexico has used Smart Communications to scan incoming mail and upload it to inmate tablets, rather than delivering the physical letter. NMCD pays Smart Communications nothing for this service -- the company's revenue comes from families and friends paying for communications.
The practical effects, as documented in the ACLU's 2026 lawsuit:
- Mail made of cardboard or rigid material that cannot run through the scanner is rejected
- Magazines have been rejected as "incapable of running through the scanner"
- Books can only be purchased from approved vendors and publishers
- The rules have been unclear and inconsistently applied across facilities, and were imposed through memos that were not always memorialized in official policy or communicated to families
If your mail or a publication is rejected, document it. The ACLU is litigating exactly these restrictions.
The Predatory Behavior Management Program (PBMP)
The PBMP at the Penitentiary of New Mexico is the subject of an active ACLU class action. According to the lawsuit, people in the program are held about 23 hours a day in small cells, sometimes for years, with strip searches, outdoor cages in extreme temperatures, inadequate nutrition (one plaintiff lost over 40 pounds in 90 days), and inadequate mental health care despite serious diagnoses. NMCD maintains the program provides programming and services and "fixes behaviors."
If your loved one is in the PBMP or another form of long-term isolation and is being harmed, the ACLU of New Mexico is the contact. Document the conditions, the duration, and any denial of medical or mental health care.
How to File a Complaint on Your Loved One's Behalf
Step 1: Document everything specific
Date, facility, staff name if known, what happened. For medical or mental health issues: document what was requested, when, and the response. For solitary confinement: document the duration and conditions.
Step 2: Family and Constituent Services
(505) 827-8710. For general concerns and to be referred to the right area of the Department.
Step 3: Health Services Bureau (medical concerns)
(505) 827-8628. Note you will need a signed, notarized release from your loved one to get specific medical information.
Step 4: Contact the facility
For facility-level issues, contact the warden's office or, at private facilities, the grievance officer (for example, Otero County's grievance officer at (575) 824-4884 ext. 170).
Step 5: Contact your New Mexico state legislators
At nmlegis.gov. New Mexico has had active legislative debate over solitary confinement and prison conditions -- constituent contact matters.
Step 6: Contact the ACLU of New Mexico
(505) 266-5915 | aclu-nm.org. For solitary confinement, denial of publications, or unconstitutional conditions -- the issues they are actively litigating.
Step 7: Federal escalation
DOJ Civil Rights Division (justice.gov/crt). For federal facilities in New Mexico: BOP. New Mexico also has significant ICE detention (e.g., Otero County) -- those are federal immigration matters, separate from NMCD.
What families cannot compel: You cannot file an internal NMCD grievance for your loved one. You cannot override classification, custody, or transfer decisions. External organizations can investigate and litigate but cannot guarantee outcomes.
Staying Connected: The Practical Guide for New Mexico Families
Phone
Securus (verify your facility's current vendor). Set up a prepaid account; prepaid beats collect. Outbound calls only. All calls recorded except legal calls. Post-FCC rate caps apply; verify current rates.
Scanned by Smart Communications and delivered to tablets. Use the inmate's legal name and NMCD number. Avoid cardboard, rigid materials, or anything that cannot run through a scanner. Books and magazines must come directly from a publisher or approved vendor. If mail is rejected, document it.
Sending money
Money order only. The sender must be on the inmate's approved visitor list. Write the inmate's name and five-digit NMCD number on the money order. Send to the facility where the inmate is located.
Quarterly packages
Union Supply Direct (nminmatepackage.com) -- pre-approved food and snack packages for NMCD inmates.
In-person and video visits
Be added to the approved list (initiated by your loved one), complete the application (renew every two years), and schedule at least a week in advance (Monday-Friday). One visit per week. Video visitation available for approved visitors -- contact the facility. For long-distance visits, ask about two-day consecutive visits or the Special Visit Request form.
Locating your loved one
NMCD Offender Search: cd.nm.gov/offender-search (search by name, offender number, or NMCD number)
Family and Constituent Services: (505) 827-8710
InmateAid New Mexico inmate search: [internal link]
Supporting Yourself While Supporting Them
New Mexico gives families a real front door: the Family Constituent Services and Correspondence Office at (505) 827-8710, and the Offender Family Guidebook. Use them for general questions and navigation. For anything specific about your loved one's status, you will be routed to their caseworker or parole officer.
But understand the larger picture. New Mexico's prisons are the subject of active ACLU litigation over solitary confinement and over banned books and mail. If your loved one is being held in long-term isolation, denied reading material, or harmed by the conditions these lawsuits describe, the ACLU of New Mexico (505-266-5915) is the organization fighting these exact issues right now.
If your loved one is in a privately run facility (GEO, CoreCivic, or MTC), understand that the operator -- not the state directly -- runs day-to-day operations, and the facility has its own grievance officer. Document everything and escalate to NMCD and the ACLU as needed.
If your loved one is a woman held at Springer or Grants, far from home, the distance is real. Ask about two-day visits and video visitation to maintain contact.
Worth Rises (worthrises.org) tracks Securus and Smart Communications costs and practices nationally. New Mexico's mail-scanning arrangement is exactly what they document.
Dial **211** for local community resource referrals across New Mexico.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a New Mexico office specifically for families of incarcerated people?
Yes. The NMCD Family Constituent Services and Correspondence Office is the central point of contact between the Department and inmate families. Reach it at (505) 827-8710. It answers general questions, references department policy, and makes referrals, and it publishes the Offender Family Guidebook. For specific questions about your loved one's status, you will be directed to their caseworker or parole officer, and NMCD cannot release medical information without a signed, notarized release.
How does mail work in New Mexico prisons?
Since 2022, incoming mail is scanned by Smart Communications and delivered digitally to inmate tablets rather than as physical letters. NMCD pays nothing for this; the revenue comes from families. Mail made of cardboard or rigid material that cannot run through the scanner is rejected, and magazines have been rejected. Books must come from approved publishers or vendors. The ACLU of New Mexico sued NMCD in 2026 alleging these book and mail restrictions violate the constitutional right to read.
What is the Predatory Behavior Management Program (PBMP)?
The PBMP at the Penitentiary of New Mexico is a program NMCD says is designed to "fix behaviors" that threaten prison order. The ACLU of New Mexico sued NMCD in 2025, alleging the PBMP is unconstitutional long-term solitary confinement -- people held about 23 hours a day in small cells, some for years, with strip searches, outdoor cages, inadequate nutrition, and inadequate mental health care. About 200 people are in the program. If your loved one is in the PBMP, the ACLU of New Mexico is the contact.
How do I get on an inmate's visiting list?
Your loved one must request that your name be added. NMCD then sends you a visiting application to complete. After review and approval, you are added to the list. Applications must be renewed every two years. Visits are one per week, Monday through Friday, scheduled at least a week in advance, with no weekend visits. Visitors are screened with an ION drug scan device.
How do I send money to an inmate in New Mexico?
Money orders only. The sender must be on the inmate's approved visitor list. Write the inmate's name and five-digit NMCD number on the money order and send it to the facility where the inmate is located. The facility deposits it into the inmate's account.
Why is my loved one held so far away?
New Mexico is a large state with facilities spread across it, and incarcerated women can only be housed at a small number of facilities (Springer and historically Grants), so many women in particular are held far from home. NMCD also uses privately operated facilities (GEO, CoreCivic, MTC) in remote areas. For long-distance visits, ask the facility about two-day consecutive visits or a Special Visit Request (form CD-100201.3) for visitors traveling 500 or more miles.
Can I send books to someone in a New Mexico state prison?
Books and magazines must be ordered directly from a publisher or approved vendor -- not sent from home. Because mail is scanned by Smart Communications, items that cannot run through the scanner are rejected. The ACLU of New Mexico is currently litigating the state's book and publication restrictions, arguing they violate the constitutional right to read. --- [SPEC NOTE: Series folder 1intOvghBAhj6-_YzDsYllOy4scUOeEGh. Internal CTAs: New Mexico inmate search, send money to New Mexico inmates, New Mexico reentry resources, Staying Connected hub, how prison works hub. SOURCING: cd.nm.gov/constituent-services/family-and-offender-resources (Family Constituent Services Correspondence Office central point contact NMCD inmate family members; family-focused approach strong family community ties reentry; general information; specific questions offender status institutional caseworker probation parole field officer; NMCD unable provide health mental health information without current signed witnessed notarized release; Union Supply Direct NEW Quarterly Package provider nminmatepackage.com coffee snacks); cd.nm.gov/constituent-services/family-and-offender-resources/visitation (one visit week scheduled per inmate; 575-472-1002 NENMCF; approved visitation list; in-person Monday-Friday scheduled at least week advance; NENMCF two-day visit two hours first day two hours second day consecutive; video visits approved through NMCD; no weekend visitation visitation most holidays; new visitation applications every two years; Special Visit Request form CD-100201.3 visitors 500 miles); cd.nm.gov/services/offender-family-services (funds money order inmate name five digit Corrections number; sender on approved visitor list; inmate request name placed visiting list application; ION Drug Scan device minute traces drug residue; sick call slip medical; grievance process); adoptaninmate.org Offender Family Guidebook (Family Constituent Services 505-827-8710; Health Services Bureau 505-827-8628/827-8698; women only housed Grants or Springer only adult female prisons New Mexico; appeal CD-100201; unlimited personal mail; money order approved visitors; marriage 60 days); cd.nm.gov Offender Family Guidebook Revised 2023 (offender search name NMCD number; Family Constituent Services 505-827-8710); cd.nm.gov/ocs/vs.html (Victim Services 877-842-8464 877-VICTIM4 PO Box 27116 Santa Fe 87502 -- FOR CRIME VICTIMS not inmate families; Reception Diagnostic Center Los Lunas tests evaluations classification; custody level determines institution can change location); abqjournal.com April 2026 (ACLU two inmates sued NMCD policies banning books mail magazines violate constitutional right to read; NMCD pays nothing Smart Communications vendor scans uploads tablets; previously Securus; since 2022 plaintiffs unable access news literature; mail no longer accepted cardboard rigid parchment incapable running through scanner; magazines not accepted; Franklin 35 first-degree murder; filed 1st Judicial District Court March 17; ACLU lawyer Lalit; memo not memorialized official policy neither inmates families notified; books approved vendors publishers); aclu.org + aclu-nm.org May 2025 (GuJuan Fusilier Mah-konce Hudson O'Shay Toney Penitentiary New Mexico PNM class action long-term solitary Predatory Behavior Management Program PBMP; New Mexico Constitution cruel unusual punishment; ACLU NM Keker Van Nest Peters; Toney fourth confinement five years; Hudson PTSD four years; Fusilier lost 40 pounds 90 days borderline schizophrenia anxiety PTSD seconds through cell bars); santafenewmexican.com August 2025 + solitarywatch.org May 2025 (PBMP 23 hours day; ~200 individuals; strip searches outdoor cages extreme temperatures; Lalita Moskowitz managing attorney solitary confinement torture; Toney told issues not grievable; 95% locked up come home); inmateaid.com PNM (4331 State Hwy 14 Santa Fe maximum; Securus Tech carrier; outgoing calls only); inmateaid.com CNMCF (Los Lunas medium; Visitor Coordinator Michelle Bouska 505-383-3334; 505-383-3300; RDC immediate family only; books publisher; mail scanned third-party PO box); inmateaid.com OCPF (Otero County MTC; grievance officer Fernando Raygoza 575-824-4884 ext 170; GEO CoreCivic MTC private; Otero ICE Processing Center DHS OIG December 2017); prisonlegalnews.org December 2024 (NMCD outsourced medical care Centurion Correctional Healthcare June 2016; predecessor Corizon sued 150+ times nine years; HRDC IPRA public records suit won September 2024); aclu-nm.org P.O. Box 566 Albuquerque NM 87103 505-266-5915; lopd.nm.gov; newmexicolegalaid.org 1-833-545-4357; famm.org; worthrises.org; humanrightsdefensecenter.org 561-360-2523; nmlegis.gov; justice.gov/crt; 211 NM; cd.nm.gov/offender-search. NOTE for Poorwa: CRITICAL -- verify NMCD phone vendor (InmateAid lists Securus Tech for PNM/CNMCF; some generic sources say GTL/ViaPath; ABQ Journal says NMCD previously used Securus for mail then switched to Smart Communications -- CONFIRM current PHONE vendor specifically); verify Smart Communications still mail-scan vendor and NMCD pays nothing (ABQ Journal April 2026); verify mail-scanning rejection rules (cardboard/rigid/magazines); verify ACLU publications lawsuit filed March 2026 status/outcome; verify ACLU PBMP solitary lawsuit 2025 status/outcome; verify ~200 in PBMP; verify Family Constituent Services 505-827-8710 current; verify Health Services Bureau 505-827-8628 (guidebook also lists 827-8698 -- confirm correct number); verify women housed only at Springer and/or Grants -- CONFIRM current (Western NM Correctional Facility Grants status; Springer Correctional Center status); verify CNMCF Visitor Coordinator Michelle Bouska 505-383-3334 and 505-383-3300 current; verify NENMCF Clayton GEO visitation 575-472-1002 and two-day visit option; verify Otero County grievance officer 575-824-4884 ext 170 current; verify visitation renewed every 2 years, one visit/week, Mon-Fri, no weekends; verify ION drug scan; verify Union Supply Direct nminmatepackage.com current quarterly package vendor; verify money-order-only rule and sender-must-be-on-visitor-list; verify NMCD Offender Search at cd.nm.gov/offender-search; verify ACLU NM 505-266-5915 P.O. Box 566 Albuquerque current; verify NM Legal Aid 1-833-545-4357; verify Centurion still healthcare vendor or changed; verify private facilities list (NENMCF/Lea/Guadalupe GEO; Otero MTC) current operators; verify Victim Services is for CRIME VICTIMS not inmate families (deliberately NOT listed as family resource); verify FCC rate caps apply; len/char check before publish. NOTE: Victim Services Program (877-842-8464) serves crime victims, NOT inmate families -- deliberately excluded from family resources to avoid confusion, same as New Hampshire treatment.]
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