On Wednesday, New Mexico lawmakers in the House Judiciary Committee advanced House Bill 9, the Immigrant Safety Act, with amendments that strengthen protections for immigrant communities.
These changes adjust New Mexico’s cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The first would bar ICE and other federal agents from using local law enforcement to aid their investigations of immigrants in the state under 287 (g) agreements. Carla Law, policy advocate for ACLU of New Mexico, said this is a matter of safety.
“We are all safer when we have clear boundaries between local law enforcement and between ICE,” Law said.
Fabiola Landeros, immigration and civil rights organizer for El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos emphasized this point by noting the sanctuary city status of Albuquerque, which already applies these protections.
“We are not afraid to call the police when we are victims of a crime knowing that they will not be helping to do the work of family separations,” Landeros said.
The other amendment prohibits public bodies from selling, leasing, or otherwise transferring property for the purpose of immigration detention. Advocates say this is necessary to keep escalating enforcement tactics out of New Mexico.
But not everyone present Wednesday supported the bill. Multiple citizens from the village of Milan came for public comment.
Among them was Cibola County Manager Kate Fletcher, who said 200 local employees will be out of work.
“We don’t have any other jobs to give them. So I do oppose House Bill 9,” Fletcher said.
To that concern, ACLU of New Mexico said they are working with the Department of Workforce Solutions to help the people who would lose their jobs.
ACLU Policy Advocate Carla Law said there needs to be other options.
“We want better for our rural communities than an economy that depends on the detention and inhumane treatment of immigrants,” Law said.
The committee approved the bill with amendments. HB 9 now moves to the House floor.
