A flagship Democrat-backed effort to shut down immigration detention in New Mexico has collapsed in real time — with every single facility staying open despite the passage of a sweeping anti-ICE law.
Earlier this year, the Democrat-controlled Legislature pushed through the so-called “Immigrant Safety Act,” designed to block counties from working with federal immigration authorities. Activists and lawmakers touted the measure as a way to effectively end immigration detention operations across the state.
That didn’t happen.
Instead, the federal government quickly moved around the law — and won.
According to reporting from the Santa Fe New Mexican, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has already secured a direct contract with private prison company CoreCivic to continue housing detainees in both Cibola and Torrance counties. The contract officially took effect May 1 — weeks before the law’s May 20 implementation date.
Previously, counties served as intermediaries between ICE and private operators. The new law attempted to sever that relationship. But rather than shutting down operations, the federal government simply cut the counties out entirely.
The result: business continues as usual.
ICE spokesperson Leticia Zamarripa confirmed the contract was awarded April 30 with a May 1 start date, though federal officials declined to release full details, according to the New Mexican. Federal spending records show at least $13.4 million has already been allocated, with the contract running through April 2027.
Local officials made clear they are no longer involved — but also made clear the facilities are not going anywhere.
Cibola County Manager Kate Fletcher said the county is now “not involved with the ICE inmates in any way shape or form,” after being instructed by federal officials to step aside before the new contract began.
Torrance County officials similarly confirmed their prior agreement expired in March and that they have no role in the new federal arrangement.
But the most revealing reaction came from those who feared the law would devastate local economies.
“The jobs won’t go, and we’re very relieved — so relieved,” Fletcher told the New Mexican.
That relief underscores what critics warned from the start: the law targeted local governments, not the federal government or private companies actually running the facilities.
The third major detention center in Otero County is also staying open after county officials rushed to extend their ICE contract before the law took effect. When the state attempted to block that move, the New Mexico Supreme Court rejected the effort outright.
In total, all three major immigration detention facilities in the state remain operational — directly contradicting claims that the legislation would shut them down.
Even some advocates acknowledged the outcome amounts to a failure of the policy’s core goal.
Ian Philabaum of Innovation Law Lab called the continued operation of facilities “a direct rebuke of the will of the people,” according to the New Mexican.
But the legal reality is clear: the state lacks authority to stop federal immigration enforcement or private contracts — a limitation that has doomed similar efforts in other states.
Despite months of political rhetoric and legislative maneuvering, New Mexico’s attempt to dismantle ICE detention has resulted in no closures, no shutdowns, and no meaningful disruption.
Instead, the system remains intact — just with counties removed from the process.
In the end, the law didn’t stop ICE.
It simply changed who signs the paperwork.