Albuquerque — The U.S. Department of Justice late Friday sued the state and City of Albuquerque to pause enforcement of local legislation the federal government says would impede federal immigration enforcement in the state.
Federal officials asked a federal judge for an injunction prohibiting the state from enforcing House Bill 9, the “Immigrant Safety Ordinance” passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham this year. It prohibits local governments from cooperating with federal immigration actions and required local prisons to end contracts to hold federal immigration detainees. The suit also seeks to block Albuquerque’s “Safe Community Places Ordinance” which further extended the city’s policies prohibiting cooperation with ICE and requiring businesses to designate non-public areas not open to ICE agents without a judicial warrant. The federal lawsuit names Lujan Grisham and Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller as defendants, as well as the state and City.
“The State of New Mexico and the City of Albuquerque seek to intentionally obstruct federal law enforcement by preventing cooperation between local governments and the federal government,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison for the District of New Mexico. “HB9 and the SCPO unlawfully interfere with federal immigration enforcement, illegally discriminate against federal operations, and violate constitutional protections regarding contracts and federal supremacy.”
New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez quickly responded Friday with a promise to vigorously defend HB9.
“House Bill 9 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. The Legislature made a considered judgment that New Mexico’s government, its employees, and its publicly funded facilities should not be instruments of a detention system that has caused serious and preventable harm to people held within our borders. That is precisely the kind of policy judgment that belongs to the states.
“The Constitution reserves to the states the power to govern their own affairs — including how state and local personnel are deployed and how publicly funded facilities are used. Federal agents remain free to enforce federal immigration law. They may make arrests, conduct investigations, and carry out removals. What they may not do is compel New Mexico’s officers, employees, and institutions to administer federal enforcement priorities the state has chosen not to adopt. The federal government has its own personnel and its own resources. It does not have a constitutional right to New Mexico’s.
“This lawsuit asks a federal court to override a democratically enacted state law because the administration disagrees with the policy choice the Legislature made. That is not a constitutional argument. It is an attempt to use federal litigation to reverse an outcome the administration dislikes. We will see them in court.”
New Mexico Atty. Gen. Raul Torrez
Torrez has participated in several successful lawsuits fighting federal policy changes impacting New Mexico. Court records show that no decision or hearing date has been set in the case.
Albuquerque City Councilor Dan Lewis, a Republican representing part of the Westside, said, “Mayor Keller deserves to be sued for doubling down on reckless sanctuary policies that undermine law enforcement agencies and put everyone at risk.”