Overview

The Otero County Processing Center (OCPC) is a ~1,000-bed ICE detention facility at 26 McGregor Range Road, Chaparral, NM (Otero County), operated exclusively for ICE by Management & Training Corporation (MTC). The facility was built with $68 million in county bond financing in 2007 and is the highest-heat detention signal in New Mexico (Otero heat score 78). It holds roughly 900 immigrant detainees under its current contract.

OCPC is the central flashpoint in New Mexico’s 2026 fight over the Immigrant Safety Act (HB9), which bans local ICE detention contracts effective May 20, 2026.

Key Details

• Capacity: ~1,000 beds (contract allows ~900 detainees)
• Operator: Management & Training Corporation (MTC)
• Contract type: Intergovernmental Service Agreement (county-as-intermediary), now contested under HB9
• Construction debt: $68M county bonds (2007) — county cites bondholder obligations + hundreds of jobs as reason to keep facility open
• Location: Chaparral, NM (Otero County, FIPS 35035)

HB9 Defiance and the Contract Extension Fight (2026)

• The Otero County Commission voted to extend its ICE contract — and approved a five-year extension — in apparent defiance of HB9 (effective May 20, 2026). An initial extension attempt was deemed illegal; the county re-extended again in March 2026.
• The New Mexico Department of Justice (AG Raúl Torrez) urged the state Supreme Court to stop the contract. On April 16, 2026, the NM Supreme Court declined to intervene, leaving the contract in place.
• After the US DOJ sued New Mexico (May 8, 2026) to block HB9, AG Torrez agreed to withhold enforcement of HB9 against OCPC in exchange for DOJ withdrawing its preliminary injunction request. The facility remains operational as of late May 2026, pending litigation.

Why It Matters

OCPC is the test case for whether a state ban (HB9) can actually close an ICE facility when a county defies it, a private operator (MTC) wants to stay, and the federal government sues to preserve detention capacity. The AG’s agreement to pause enforcement shows the state ban is, for now, not closing the highest-capacity NM facility.

Sources

• ICE — Otero County Processing Center
• Source NM — Otero County extends detention contract again after first attempt deemed illegal (Mar 26, 2026)
• Source NM — NM Supreme Court declines AG’s request to intervene (Apr 17, 2026)
• Source NM — NM DOJ urges Supreme Court to stop Otero contract (Apr 1, 2026)
• NM Political Report — Torrez agrees to pause HB9 enforcement, keep Otero open (May 13, 2026)
• MTC — Otero County Processing Center
• Freedom for Immigrants — Report on Otero