The New Mexico Department of Justice today filed a petition with the New Mexico Supreme Court, seeking to immediately block an agreement between Otero County and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A press release from the state DOJ's office claims the agreement is unlawful on two counts, the first being House Bill 9, the Immigrant Safety Act, that bars New Mexico municipalities from entering detention contracts with ICE. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed that bill into law earlier this year but it doesn't technically become law until May 20. The DOJ also claims that if such a contract were legal, it would require approval from the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration, which Otero County failed to obtain.
The DOJ also claims that Otero County violated the state's Open Meetings Act when it held an emergency meeting to approve the ICE detention contract last month.
The DOJ's statement said, "Otero County's conduct is precisely the kind of maneuver HB 9 was designed to prevent. Otero County acted in direct defiance of public policy set by the New Mexico Legislature."
Debate over the Immigrant Safety Act was contentious as the bill worked its way through the Roundhouse earlier this year. Republicans fear how job losses from detention center closures will affect rural New Mexico communities. Meanwhile, Democrats decry the conditions in the facilities and the charges that detainees are being held on.
