SANTA FE, NM – Today, the New Mexico House of Representatives passed House Bill 9, the Immigrant Safety Act, marking a significant step forward in ending New Mexico’s complicity in the inhumane federal immigration detention system. The bill will now advance to the Senate. Representatives sponsoring the bill include Eleanor Chávez, Angelica Rubio, Andrea Romero, Marianna Anaya, and Christine Chandler.
The Immigrant Safety Act aims to end New Mexico's involvement in the federal immigration detention system by:
- Preventing state and local governments from entering into agreements to detain people for civil immigration violations
- Blocking ICE from using local governments to bypass public scrutiny
- Prohibiting the use of public land and resources for immigration detention
New Mexico's three immigration detention centers have faced serious allegations of human rights violations, including excessive use of solitary confinement, inadequate medical care, and three deaths in custody since 2022. By passing this legislation, New Mexico joins seven other states that have enacted similar protections.
The Immigrant Safety Act now heads to the Senate.
"Behind each detention bed is a human being—parents separated from children, workers torn from their communities, and asylum seekers who fled violence only to face new trauma in detention," said Jessica Martinez, Director of Policy and Coalition Building at NMILC. "By passing the Immigrant Safety Act, the House has chosen to stand on the right side of history. We urge the Senate to act swiftly to complete this important work and end New Mexico's complicity in this harmful system."
"Today, New Mexico’s house of representatives took a stand for justice and compassion. Passing the Immigrant Safety Act will be an important step toward rejecting a system that dehumanizes and harms our immigrant communities. This legislation embodies our commitment to protecting human dignity and divesting New Mexico’s public resources from systems that perpetuate harm and injustice,” said Ariel Prado, Director of Civic Engagement at Innovation Law Lab.
Max Brooks, an attorney with the ACLU of New Mexico, said, "Three deaths in our state's ICE facilities since 2022 underscore the devastating human cost of this system. By passing the Immigrant Safety Act, New Mexico can join seven other states in refusing to be complicit in a system that treats our immigrant neighbors—who are integral parts of our communities as family members, friends, and coworkers—with such profound disregard for their basic dignity and safety."
"New Mexicans have shown that they highly value inclusion and respect," said Andres Esquivel, Campaigns Manager at New Mexico Dream Team. "By passing the Immigrant Safety Act, New Mexico will step away from contributing to a system that disregards human rights and take a step towards dignity. We urge the Senate to follow the House's lead and pass this crucial legislation without delay to protect our immigrant communities."
“This is a victory for our communities, especially LGBTQ immigrants. The House of Representatives clearly stated that we will not allow inhumane treatment of queer and trans immigrants to continue without oversight. We stood for New Mexican values today,” said Marshall Martinez, Executive Director of Equality New Mexico.
