1. United States
2. Ariz.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge your immediate attention to the case of Norma Lopez‑Acosta, a 53‑year‑old grandmother of eleven who is currently being held at the Eloy Detention Center. Her story, recently reported by The Copper Courier, is not the story of a dangerous individual or a threat to public safety. It is the story of a woman who has spent nearly three decades in Arizona working grueling jobs, raising six children, contributing quietly to her community, and trying to survive. Norma is being detained for a civil immigration offense, yet she is confined in a facility known for harsh conditions, inadequate medical care, and a history of mistreatment. Treating a civil violation as though it were a criminal act is not only disproportionate — it undermines the principles of fairness and due process that our legal system is supposed to uphold. Her due process protections are so limited that, in practice, they amount to almost no due process at all. She was taken into custody after a traffic stop, despite having no criminal record and despite being exactly the kind of long‑time community member who should not be swept up in mass‑deportation tactics. She has lived in Arizona since 1997, raised U.S.‑citizen children, worked physically punishing jobs for decades, and built her entire life here. She has no meaningful ties left in Mexico. Inside Eloy, she has reported being given clothing that doesn’t fit, enduring extreme cold, and receiving food she describes as nutritionally inadequate — conditions consistent with long‑standing concerns about the facility. She suffers from chronic pain, spinal issues, numbness in her legs, high blood pressure, and diabetes. These are not the circumstances under which a grandmother who has spent her life working and caring for her family should be forced to fight for her basic humanity. Norma is not “the worst of the worst.” She is a mother, a grandmother, a worker, and a long‑time Arizonan who deserves dignity and a fair process. Her detention does not make our community safer. It only tears apart a family, traumatizes her grandchildren, and punishes a woman who has already endured a lifetime of hardship. I urge you to look into her case, to advocate for her release on bond, and to push for humane treatment and meaningful due process for individuals like Norma. No one should lose their freedom over a civil offense without a fair chance to be heard.