As demonstrators rallied against Immigration and Customs Enforcement outside the Roundhouse Friday, state legislators debated the Immigration Safety Act on the House floor. The House passed the bill on a 40 to 29 vote and it now heads to the Senate.
If it becomes law, The Immigrant Safety Act will prohibit state or local governments from contracting with ICE or any other agencies detaining people for immigration violations. Lawmakers also added an amendment that would prohibit law enforcement from collaborating with ICE agents. House Democrats said in a statement that the bill would not interfere with law enforcement’s authority to detain individuals for criminal charges or investigative needs.
The bill's lead sponsor, Rep. Eleanor Chávez (D-26) said in a statement that more than a thousand people are currently being held in New Mexico's three ICE facilities. She said many of those people are facing "horrific and inhumane conditions."
Debate over the bill has remained consistent as the bill worked its way through House committees and onto the floor. Republicans fear how job losses from detention center closures will affect rural New Mexico communities. Democrats decry the conditions in the facilities and the charges that detainees are being held on.
Rep. Patty Lundstrom (D-9) grew up in Milan, where one of the New Mexico ICE facilities is located. She's already seen job losses in the small community due to shifts in the energy industry and fears closing the detention center will make matters worse in Milan. Lundstrom was one of the few Democrats who voted against the bill.
Similar legislation has stalled in the Senate in previous sessions but the Immigrant Safety Act looks to have more support. Sen. Joseph Cervantes chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee and opposed last year's bill. Cervantes is a co-sponsor of the Immigrant Safety Act. Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth said last week he wants the bill on the governor's desk as quickly as possible.
