Economically crippling anti-ICE bill heads to governor’s desk (New Mexico bans ICE detention facilities)

The Piñon Post ^ | February 4, 2026 | Piñon Post staff

[CedarDave]

In a move critics are calling reckless, ideologically driven, and economically devastating, New Mexico Democrats have fast-tracked House Bill 9, the so-called “Immigrant Safety Act”—through the Legislature and toward the governor’s desk, setting the stage for what opponents warn could be mass job losses, municipal insolvency, and a collapse of rural economies in Otero County, Torrance County, and Cibola County.

The bill cleared the Senate late Tuesday night on a 24–15, near party-line vote after hours of heated debate. The House had already passed the measure earlier in the session after a lengthy debate led by Rep. John Block (R-Alamogordo), who offered an amendment to make counties whole that was narrowly defeated. Rural communities are now having to brace for impact.

HB 9 bans local governments from contracting with the federal government to operate Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities, prohibits renewals of existing agreements, and bars the use of public property for federal immigration detention. Supporters framed the bill as a moral stand against what they described as a “cruel” federal immigration system. But even lawmakers who oppose ICE policies acknowledged the bill’s severe economic consequences.

“This is going to devastate my community,” warned Sen. Ant Thornton, R-Sandia Park, whose district includes the Torrance County Detention Facility. Thornton unsuccessfully offered an amendment that would have reimbursed counties for lost taxes, jobs, and economic activity. “Estancia is going to turn into a ghost town,” he said.

Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, whose district includes Cibola County, voted against the bill and issued an even starker warning. “You want to see a town dry up like a tumbleweed and blow away—get ready,” Muñoz said, calling Grants a town “built on prisons.” He added, “We have to figure out how we’re going to help these people… and now it’s going to disappear.”

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Government; US: New Mexico
KEYWORDS: detention; ice; illegals

[CedarDave]

The economic impacts are enormous. Just in Cibola County, local officials estimate 180 direct job losses, with total economic impacts exceeding $20 million annually when payroll, secondary spending, and multiplier effects are considered. These counties are rural where jobs are hard to come by and mostly managed by Democratic office holders and the population votes Democratic. But to the people in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, they don't matter - what matters to those radicals is sticking it to Trump and his immigration policy.

[Jane Long]

New Mexico ... Land of Disenchantment ... is lost :-(

[CedarDave]

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[Opinionated Blowhard]

And this performance art will be overturned by a federal court (at least one without a partisan hack Dem judge) as soon as it hits the docket as being preempted by federal law.

[mitchjackson1972]

Fine, then they leave us the 2nd option: no detention, just pack them in buses sent straight back to the mexican border

[Semper Vigilantis]

Last I knew there were at least 3 USAF bases and 1 maybe 2 ANG facilities in NM. And I hear White Sands Missile Range is a nice place in the summer.

[CedarDave]

Link to ABQ Journal story:

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/new-mexico-senate-passes-bill-seeking-to-close-immigration-detention-facilities/2973634

[shelterguy]

Sure. But the state people have to pretend they have some power so they look tough. If only they knew how ridiculous they look.

[PIF]

Too bad, so sad; I guess they forgot that the Feds own 24 million acres of New Mexico that they could put a really, really big, bigger biggest, detention facility on.

[Twotone]

So the employees at each facility should form their own corporation & take the contract from the feds & rent the facilities from the counties. Problem solved. ;-)

[TheThirdRuffian]

Trump should close the Sante Fe National forest and store the illegals there in a giant tent city.

Ski Sante Fe has a large parking lot that can be used.

Make Sante Fe pay with its pocket book.

[Bernard]

Or transport them all to Gitmo to stay there until their court date comes up in 3-5 years. Do the same thing with the protestors.

[ansel12]

About 32% of NM land is federal.

[Georgia Girl 2]

They think they can do things they can’t do. 😅

[MrRelevant]

Well the immigrants must be safe at all costs.

[Mark]

Move everything to border states who need these funds and employment.

[Made In The USA]

“Immigrant Safety Act”. Ummm … if there here LEGALLY that’s not necessary.

So who are you protecting Democrats? Certainly not people living here, just your gravy train of fraud.

[catnipman]

“HB 9 bans local governments from contracting with the federal government to operate Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities”

i don’t see the problem here: it would appear that ONLY local governments are prohibited from the contracts, which leaves every other corporation and non-new-mexico government in the USA available for contracting ...

should NM also attempt to disallow private contractors or use of private property as detention centers, the Feds could always apply eminent domain and buy said facilities at fair market values and make them Federal property ... so, Sayonara to NM government ...

apparently the problem is that several poor counties of NM will go bankrupt without the contracting revenue from the Feds, but hey, sacrificing a few poor counties here or there seems to be worth the price to pay for meaningless virtue signaling ...

ya’ll keep voting for Democrats, ya’ hear!

[butlerweave]

call them Hotels or Resorts ,LOL

[DesertRhino]

Meaningless. The federal government owns a huge chunk of New Mexico, and the state has no say about what happens there. National Forest, BLM, military bases, etc..