Immigration detention center bill passes the House amid public protest

A bill that could close immigration detention centers across New Mexico passed the state House of Representatives on Friday, putting the legislation at the official halfway point as public outcry over Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s use of force continues.

“(House Bill) 9 does not pretend that we can control the federal government — it does something more honest,” said co-sponsor Rep. Angelica Rubio, D-Las Cruces, before the vote. “It says New Mexico will not be complicit. It says we will not volunteer our land, our contracts and our public institutions to carry out harm.”

If passed, the bill could close three immigration detention centers in New Mexico and forbid local authorities from assisting in immigration enforcement.

A version of the legislation has been floating around the Roundhouse for the past decade, but with President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown ongoing, for the first time, the bill may have the votes and momentum to become law.

The bill passed the House on a 40-29 vote, largely along party lines. The only three Democrats to break from the pack were Reps. Patricia Lundstrom of Gallup, Martha Garcia of Pine Hill and Doreen Wanda Johnson of Church Rock.

All three represent rural Cibola County, where the CoreCivic-owned immigration detention facility is a major employer.

During debate, Lundstrom said that her community would suffer economically without the detention facility, though she also said that she condemns the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s actions in Minneapolis and across the country.

“We need help,” Lundstrom said. “All our base industries have been swept away.”

Lundstrom pleaded with legislators to dedicate $50,000 of their capital outlay pools to aid the rural area’s economy. In response, House Speaker Rep. Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, said he would personally dedicate $100,000 of his capital outlay to Lundstrom's district.

That promise would become a touchy subject between Rep. John Block, R-Alamogordo, and the speaker, who went back and forth over what Block called unfair preferential treatment.

Block represents Otero County, which has the largest detention center.

Block said that Democrats were forging ahead with a bill that would economically devastate Otero County without any plan to provide financial support. Block also argued that the bill’s passage would cause the state to lose billions of dollars in federal funding.

“Are you OK, (that) once we pass this legislation, we might lose out on billions of dollars in revenue?” Block said. “All because we want to make a statement with a bill that actually doesn't do anything to stop ICE whatsoever.”

In turn, co-sponsor Andrea Romero, D-Santa Fe, fired back, saying that morality was worth more than money.

“I think we're keenly aware as a state that this administration has taken away billions of dollars from us already,” Romero said. “... We will not be bullied by this. We will stand in our rights. We will stand in our values.”

After the successful vote, immigrant rights groups, lawyers and community members gathered in the Rotunda and cheered.

For Víctor Romero Hernández, a policy manager at the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, the vote hit home.

Hernández himself is an immigrant and has lived here since he was 2 years old and has permanent residency status in the U.S.

“Every day, I live with fear that my nieces will be separated from their mother, that my dad will be separated from his siblings,” Hernández said.

This vote sends a powerful message that New Mexico will stand up for its residents, regardless of immigration status, Hernández said. 

Though Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has already expressed her support for the bill, the legislation will face a final challenge in the Senate before reaching her desk. 

Last year, the bill died in Senate committee, never reaching a final vote. 

“Passing the Senate, that’s the real hurdle,” Hernández said. 

Gillian Barkhurst is the local government reporter for the Journal. She can be reached at gbarkhurst@abqjournal.com.