It’s happening: Lujan Grisham to call special session to pick political fights
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is preparing to call a special legislative session in late August or early September, and one of the top items on her agenda could cost New Mexico thousands of high-paying jobs. According to her top legal adviser, Holly Agajanian, the governor intends to revive legislation aimed at prohibiting counties from contracting with federal agencies to operate private immigration detention facilities — a move that would effectively shutter three major centers in Torrance, Cibola, and Otero counties.
These privately operated facilities currently employ thousands of New Mexicans in rural communities where good-paying jobs are already scarce. Their closure would be an economic gut punch to working families and a blow to county budgets that rely on intergovernmental service agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Despite the high stakes, the governor appears determined to prioritize this political fight over more urgent bipartisan concerns, such as rising crime and needed reforms to New Mexico’s juvenile justice system.
“This is not necessarily an exhaustive list for a special session call, but it reflects the governor’s current concerns,” said Lujan Grisham spokesman Michael Coleman.
Legislation to ban local governments from partnering with ICE for civil detention previously passed the House 35-25 but died in a Senate committee. The bill would effectively outlaw the agreements that currently allow ICE to use New Mexico facilities to detain individuals for civil immigration violations.
Critics have blasted the move as a dangerous example of putting politics before people. Sen. Crystal Brantley, R-Elephant Butte, said, “Our president has taken illegal immigration to the lowest numbers ever, but here we are finding a way to use taxpayer dollars to pick a fight with the administration for cheap political points. Meanwhile, we’re leaving serious bipartisan juvenile justice reform efforts out in the cold.”
“I’m deeply upset yet not surprised that this is shaping up to be another special session of hot air,” Brantley added.
Even Democrats voiced skepticism. Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, warned that the legislation may be more symbolic than effective. “If we shut down the New Mexico beds, they’re just going to send them somewhere else,” he said, noting that federal detainees would simply be transferred to facilities in other states.
Still, some progressives continue to push the agenda. Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque, who has repeatedly tried to enter the facilities unannounced and been denied, said, “I think the government should not be complicit with detaining people in this way.” She claimed the facilities are not subject to proper state oversight due to their federal contracts. The vice-chair of the committee, Christine Chandler, even compared these facilities to terrorism.
The governor also intends to use the special session to address health care and food assistance programs, citing concerns over federal budget changes that could impact over 90,000 New Mexicans’ health coverage and reduce support for approximately 460,000 SNAP recipients, despite cuts (which include for people who refuse to work and criminal aliens), goes into effect at earliest next year on a phased-in basis. Yet critics argue that the session is once again shaping up to reflect the governor’s political agenda, not the state’s most pressing needs.
This would mark Lujan Grisham’s seventh special session since taking office in 2019. Her last attempt to push a crime package in a special session ended in failure, with lawmakers adjourning after just five hours and rejecting most of her proposals. She later scolded the Legislature for what she called an “embarrassing” performance.
With her latest proposal, the governor risks repeating that history—this time at the cost of New Mexico jobs and public safety.
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