NEW MEXICO’S MOONSHOT OF INVESTMENTS

With the passage of the Immigrant Safety Act in February 2026, New Mexico became a national leader in protecting immigrants. The law ensures New Mexico will no longer be complicit in mass detention and deportation and that local law enforcement is not entangled in ICE operations. States that have passed similar laws have deportation rates up to four times lower than states that collaborate with ICE. When the bill was signed, Jared Berenice, political director at The Semilla Project, said: “For immigrant and mixed-status families, this law represents relief, dignity, and the simple freedom to live without fear.” The Immigrant Safety Act prohibits state and local governments from entering into agreements with ICE to detain individuals for civil immigration violations, stops the use of public land for immigration detention, and bans agreements that turn local law enforcement into immigration agents. Torrance, Cibola, and Otero Counties are now obligated to end their contracts with ICE to detain thousands of people. “Counties are financially dependent on the state, so the state can stop county detention centers,” said Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. The U.S. Department of Justice sued New Mexico to prevent enactment of the bill, seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent the law from taking effect. New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez responded: “[The Immigrant Safety Act] is a constitutional exercise of state authority, and this office will defend it. The New Mexico Legislature passed this law after extensive consideration of documented harms occurring in immigration detention facilities operating in this state—inadequate medical care, deaths in custody, and conditions that fell well below acceptable standards…That is precisely the kind of policy judgment that belongs to the states.” In a short-term agreement to get a ruling as quickly as possible, Attorney General Torrez agreed not to enforce the Immigrant Safety Act while the Department of Justice's lawsuit plays out in federal court. Rep. Andrea Romero, D-Santa Fe, a sponsor of the bill, cited data showing that only 30% of those currently in ICE detention have criminal convictions.