Ethics Commission: Probation officers illegally helped ICE detain three New Mexico residents

A new legal action alleges that state probation officers illegally shared personal information with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents resulting in the detentions of at least three New Mexico residents.

At least one of those detentions resulted in the July deportation of an Albuquerque man who had lived in Bernalillo County since 2007, according to the complaint filed in 1st Judicial District Court in Santa Fe.

The complaint alleges that probation officers employed by the New Mexico Corrections Department “have intentionally disclosed information regarding the immigration status and national origin of New Mexico probationers” to ICE agents.

“At least since December 2024, employees of the Probation and Parole Division have communicated with federal ICE agents regarding New Mexico probationers,” the complaint alleges. The disclosures have resulted “both in the detention and deportation of those New Mexico probationers and hardships to their New Mexican and American family members.”

The New Mexico Ethics Commission filed the action Friday against Corrections Secretary Alisha Tafoya Lucero, who oversees the Adult Probation and Parole Division.

The complaint alleges that corrections officials violated a state law that prohibits state employees from intentionally disclosing personal information, including immigration status or national origin, to anyone outside the state agency.

The measure, called the Nondisclosure of Sensitive Personal Information Act (NSPIA), was signed into law in April by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The complaint asks a judge to confirm that the state Ethics Commission has the authority to enforce the law and bring civil actions against violators.

The New Mexico Corrections Department issued a statement Wednesday saying the Probation and Parole Division “is committed to full compliance with state and federal laws,” but neither confirmed nor denied the allegations in the complaint.

“Secretary Tafoya Lucero takes all allegations seriously and will hold staff members, who are not in compliance with the law or (New Mexico Corrections Department) policy, accountable,” including NSPIA, agency spokeswoman Brittany Roembach said in the statement.

Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque, a sponsor of NSPIA, said she was “outraged” when she read allegations in the complaint. She also said the complaint shows that immigrants are “fulfilling their responsibility under our state law and obeying judicial orders.”

“These New Mexicans were lured to the probation office under false pretenses to facilitate their detention, deportation and separation from their families, children and community,” Sedillo Lopez said in a statement. “If New Mexicans cannot trust our state government officials to perform their functions properly and legally, the system will break down and public safety for all New Mexicans will suffer.”

A spokeswoman for Lujan Grisham, Jodi McGinnis Porter, said Wednesday that the Governor’s Office would withhold comment “until we learn more about the case.”

“Corrections Secretary Alisha Tafoya Lucero does not tolerate it when people who work for her break the law,” McGinnis Porter said in a statement.

The complaint cited three examples of New Mexico residents who were taken into ICE detention when they reported to probation offices in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

Juan Lamas Aguilar

Juan Lamas Aguilar of Albuquerque has lived in the U.S. since he was 12 and has a fiancée and a 9-month-old child. He was arrested Jan. 25 and later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence.

A 2nd Judicial District judge sentenced him July 7 to 90 days of supervised probation. The following day, Lamas Aguilar received a call from someone who identified herself as his “temporary probation officer” and told him to report to a parole office “to sign one paper,” the suit said.

When Lamas Aguilar reported to the Probation and Parole office at 111 Gold NE on July 10, he was arrested by an ICE agent. He was transported to an ICE detention facility in El Paso and later transferred to the Torrance County Detention Facility in Estancia, it alleges.

Moises Llaguno

Moises Llaguno, 54, was taken into ICE custody on July 10 — the same day and at the same location that Lamas Aguilar was seized by ICE agents.

Llaguno, who is married and has lived in Bernalillo County since 2007, was arrested in February and pleaded guilty in 2nd Judicial District Court on June 18 to driving under the influence. Judge Joseph Montano sentenced Llaguno to 334 days of supervised probation.

The complaint alleges that a probation officer told him to report to the Probation and Parole Office at 111 Gold NE on July 10 “to complete paperwork.” Llaguno was first transported to the ICE Processing Center in El Paso, Texas, then deported out of the U.S. four days later.

Melvin Escobar-Arauz

Melvin Escobar-Arauz, 32, pleaded guilty to three counts of battery on a peace officer and was sentenced by a 4th Judicial District judge to three years of supervised probation.

Escobar-Arauz reported to a probation office in Santa Fe on Aug. 18, where he was taken into ICE custody, the complaint said. He is being held at an ICE detention facility in El Paso, it said.