'We need to get out of the business of detention': House Bill 9 passes committee

SANTA FE — A bill that could effectively shutter three immigration detention facilities in New Mexico by restricting the federal contracts they require to operate passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday in a 5-3 vote.

House Bill 9, also known as the Immigrant Safety Act, would bar local governments in New Mexico from contracting with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to operate detention centers in the state or renewing current contracts, potentially inhibiting key economic engines for three rural areas of the state.

The House passed the bill in a 40-29 vote last Friday. Now the legislative proposal is headed for a full vote before the Senate.

Monday's party-line vote to advance the bill followed an unusually protean scheduling process, even for the Roundhouse, where calendars are known to be subject to change.

The senate committee was originally set to consider Senate Bill 17, which would introduce a brace of new firearms and gun trafficking reforms, but the docket was changed mid-afternoon on Monday to focus on the immigration bill.

The venue for the hearing also shifted late due to the size of the audience who gathered to hear where the committee would land on the divisive legislation, which Democratic proponents say carries a moral imperative in light of expanded immigration crackdowns taking place across the U.S.

"It establishes a uniform rule across the state," said Rep. Eleanor Chavez, D-Albuquerque, the bill's sponsor. "It keeps our taxpayers from being on the hook for civil rights violations. We have the power to stand strong in New Mexico. We are here to protect our communities, not to facilitate cruelty and mistreatment."

Committee Chair Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, joined proponents of the bill this year after opposing a version that failed to become law during last year's 60-day session.

"The policies changed, and so my mind changed. My heart changed," said Cervantes, who last year cited concerns that the bill would only lead to detainees being transported to facilities in other states. "And that's not easy, because one of these facilities is in the district I represent. It needs the jobs, but not that bad."

New Mexico currently operates three ICE detention facilities, one in Torrance, one in Cibola and one in Otero County. Some critics of the legislation say it could be possible for private companies to circumvent the proposed law to renew the federal contracts.

Several citizen-proponents of House Bill 9 also voiced their support during Monday's hearing.

"We stand in strong support of this bill," said Meredith Machen, a citizen who said she spoke on behalf of the Legal Women Voters in New Mexico and the American Association of the University of Women. "I don't want to repeat what other people have said, but I think there are many other opportunities for economic development in the affected areas. We need to get out of the business of detention."

However, Republican leaders reiterated their concerns that the Immigrant Safety Act would inflict significant economic harm on the communities where the detention centers currently operate, without changing current federal immigration policy.

"This bill doesn't decide whether detention exists. It's only deciding where it's going to happen," said Crystal Brantley, R-Elephant Butte. "For New Mexico to want to take themselves out of that creates more liability, in my perspective, for the detainees.

"New Mexico is a loser in here by losing a number of well paying, high paying jobs for hard working New Mexicans," she added. "But I will say that detainees will be in greater danger because they will continue to be housed. They just won't be housed locally."

Carla Sonntag, president and CEO of the New Mexico Business Coalition, also cited during public comment the potential economic harms that could stem from the bill.

“This bill makes communities less safe and less economically viable at the same time," she said. "Opposing House Bill 9 is not about rejecting compassion or due process, it is about protecting public safety, preserving jobs and safeguarding local economies.”

John Miller is the Albuquerque Journal’s northern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at jmiller@abqjournal.com.