New Mexico’s Immigrant Safety Act (HB9) was signed by Gov. Lujan Grisham on Feb 5, 2026, effective May 20, 2026. It bans local ICE detention contracts, the use of public land for immigration detention, and 287(g) agreements. It was meant to close the state’s three ICE facilities — Otero, Cibola, and Torrance. As of late May 2026, all three remain open. The ban was routed around, not enforced.

The Three Bypass Routes

1. Direct-federal / no-bid contract (Cibola + Torrance). CoreCivic negotiated a sole-source, no-competitive-bid direct contract with ICE, removing the counties as parties. The direct contract took effect May 1, 2026 — before HB9’s May 20 date. Because no local government is a party, HB9 no longer applies.
2. County defiance (Otero). Otero County approved a five-year extension with ICE/MTC in apparent defiance of HB9. The NM Supreme Court declined to intervene (Apr 16, 2026).
3. Federal preemption lawsuit. The US DOJ sued New Mexico on May 8, 2026 (and separately sued Albuquerque), calling HB9 unconstitutional. AG Raúl Torrez then agreed to pause enforcement of HB9 against Otero in exchange for DOJ withdrawing its preliminary-injunction request. NM lawmakers (May 22, 2026) warned counties defying the ban remain vulnerable to legal action.

Why It Matters

New Mexico is the clearest national case study of the limits of state-level detention bans. Even a ban covering county contracts, public land, and 287(g) failed to close a single facility once a private operator went direct-federal, a county defied the law, and DOJ sued. The pattern — county exits, CoreCivic/MTC re-contracts directly with ICE, no-bid — is the template other states’ bans will face. A related $10.5M bill was floated to compensate counties losing detention revenue (see curry-county-nm-state-vs-county).

Sources

• ACLU-NM — Governor signs Immigrant Safety Act
• Innovation Law Lab — New Mexico passes bill outlawing state complicity with ICE detention
• Source NM — US DOJ sues New Mexico to halt immigrant detention bill (May 8, 2026)
• KRWG — New Mexico sued by DOJ over Immigrant Safety Act (May 12, 2026)
• NM Political Report — Torrez agrees to pause HB9 enforcement (May 13, 2026)
• Source NM — NM lawmakers say counties defying detention bill vulnerable to legal action (May 22, 2026)
• Santa Fe New Mexican — Advocates disappointed at NM ICE facilities staying open