Otero County NM — AG Supreme Court Challenge to ICE/MTC Contract
The Fight
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez launched an emergency challenge to the contract between Otero County, ICE, and the private prison operator Management & Training Corporation (MTC) at the Otero County Processing Center (OCPC) in Chaparral, NM — a facility holding approximately 900 detainees. The challenge escalated to the state’s highest court and ended in a unanimous defeat for the AG, leaving the contract in place. But the fight is not over: state legislation banning new and renewed civil immigration detention agreements takes effect May 20, 2026.
The Facility
The Otero County Processing Center is an MTC-operated facility in Chaparral, in the southern New Mexico desert. With a capacity of roughly 900 detainees, OCPC is one of the largest ICE detention facilities in New Mexico and a central node in the Southwest detention system. The county’s contract with ICE and MTC generates significant revenue for local government.
The AG’s Emergency Petition
On April 1, 2026, AG Torrez filed an emergency petition directly with the New Mexico Supreme Court, asking it to void the Otero County contract on the grounds that it violated state law — specifically the Immigrant Safety Act, which Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham had signed into law in February 2026.
The petition argued that the contract’s continued operation after enactment of HB 9 was unlawful and that the harm to immigrant detainees was sufficiently urgent to warrant emergency intervention before the law’s May 20 effective date.
On April 16, 2026, the New Mexico Supreme Court unanimously denied the emergency request. The court did not rule on the underlying merits of whether the contract is ultimately lawful under HB 9 — it declined to intervene on an emergency basis.
The Immigrant Safety Act (HB 9)
Governor Lujan Grisham signed HB 9 — the Immigrant Safety Act — in February 2026. The law bans all new and renewed state and local civil immigration detention agreements, effective May 20, 2026. After that date, counties that have existing contracts with ICE cannot renew or extend them.
The law’s passage triggered immediate defiance. Torrance County extended its ICE contract on the morning after the New Mexico State Senate voted to pass HB 9 — an apparent effort to lock in a contract renewal before the governor’s signature made the ban enforceable.
The Stakes
The Otero County situation is the clearest test of whether New Mexico’s statewide detention ban can hold in the face of county resistance and federal contractor interests. The AG’s loss in the Supreme Court means the contract survives until May 20. What happens at that deadline — whether Otero County attempts to renew or extend under the contract, and whether the state takes further action — will determine whether HB 9 has practical force or becomes another paper ban.
Timeline
- February 2026: Gov. Lujan Grisham signs HB 9 (Immigrant Safety Act) — bans all new/renewed civil immigration detention agreements, effective May 20, 2026
- Day of NM Senate vote (February 2026): Torrance County extends its ICE contract, apparently anticipating the ban
- 2026-04-01: AG Raúl Torrez files emergency petition with NM Supreme Court to void Otero County/ICE/MTC contract at OCPC
- 2026-04-16: NM Supreme Court unanimously denies emergency request; contract remains in force
- 2026-05-20: Immigrant Safety Act ban on new/renewed detention agreements takes effect
Key Actors
- AG Raúl Torrez — Filed emergency Supreme Court petition to void Otero contract
- Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham — Signed HB 9 (Immigrant Safety Act) February 2026
- Otero County — Counterparty to ICE/MTC contract; contract currently upheld
- Management & Training Corporation (MTC) — Private operator of OCPC
- NM Supreme Court — Unanimously denied emergency petition April 16, 2026
- Torrance County — Extended its own ICE contract in apparent defiance of HB 9