Curry County, New Mexico, has become the first law enforcement agency in the state to enter into a formal partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), taking a bold and much-needed stand in support of border security and the rule of law. Under a May 9 agreement, the Curry County Sheriff’s Office will participate in the federal Warrant Service Officer (WSO) program, allowing specially trained county jail staff to execute ICE-issued administrative immigration warrants.
This partnership, signed by Sheriff Mike Brockett and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, marks a significant step forward in local-federal collaboration to remove criminal illegal aliens from communities. It comes at a time when open-borders rhetoric dominates New Mexico politics, and some progressive municipalities work actively to shield illegal immigrants from immigration enforcement.
“While our office routinely serves warrants on behalf of other law enforcement agencies, this specific agreement with [the Department of Homeland Security] is new,” Brockett explained. “Participating in the [WSO model] assists DHS in prioritizing the removal of noncitizens who pose a threat to our community due to their criminal behavior.”
Brockett emphasized that the agreement applies strictly within the county jail and actually reduces the need for ICE to conduct enforcement operations in the broader community. “Our participation in the program is limited to the confines of our jail and reduces the need for ICE to conduct arrests within the community,” he said, calling it a “common-sense tool.”
This partnership is a direct rebuke to the left-wing policies pushed by Attorney General Raúl Torrez and others in Santa Fe, who have warned against cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Torrez’s office issued a cautionary memo earlier this year, warning of increased costs and alleged erosion of community trust under such agreements.
But Brockett disagreed. “I disagree with the NM DOJ on their perspective regarding 287(g) programs,” he wrote, referencing the legal framework that allows for such cooperation between federal and local law enforcement. This framework was revived and strengthened under President Donald Trump’s renewed commitment to secure the southern border and enforce immigration law.
Curry County is participating in the lightest of the three 287(g) models, which allows local officers to assist ICE with warrant service and custody transfers — a narrow and practical form of assistance that enhances public safety without burdening officers with full immigration enforcement responsibilities.
Still, the far-left is up in arms. The ACLU’s Becca Sheff accused Curry County of choosing “politics over people” and criticized the agreement’s initial lack of publicity, despite it being listed on ICE’s database of pending agreements.
In reality, the outrage from leftist activists and politicians is about maintaining New Mexico’s sanctuary stronghold, which includes counties like Santa Fe, Doña Ana, and Bernalillo, all of which have passed resolutions limiting cooperation with ICE. These sanctuary policies have directly undermined public safety and shielded dangerous criminals from removal.
A prior ICE agreement with the New Mexico Corrections Department in 2007 authorized prison staff to engage in immigration enforcement, though the agency says it has no current plans to revive that effort.
Despite political pressure, Curry County is prioritizing safety and standing firm in its resolve. With over 600 active ICE-local partnerships nationwide, Curry County is now part of a growing network committed to restoring law and order in the wake of the Biden administration’s catastrophic border policies. President Trump’s leadership has revitalized these partnerships and empowered local agencies to act.
Their move is a model for other counties in New Mexico that are tired of being told to ignore federal law while illegal aliens with criminal records are released back into their neighborhoods.
Great wonderful
The last thing the State of NM wants is ICE deporting their newly acquired Democrat voters willing to feed from the trough of taxpayer money the same as themselves.
You nailed it Tim!
democrats only follow laws they like. they ignore the rest of them. ( ie their sanctuary city policies over federal immigration laws) but when THEY establish laws, YOU must follow them to the letter or they will destroy you. remember MLG’s state police shutting down businesses and handing out 5 thousand dollar fines during covid ? when are you going to wake up to how evil the democrat party is NM ? ever ? nah.
good…. now let’s see the rest of them fall in line!
This is nothing pretending to be something. The county jail only. Really? Hundreds to thousands of illegals in the county, but this is what Curry County calls helping. What a joke.
Screw the ACLU.
Anything ACLU opposes is usually not serving the common good. This is just another example.
Only one county? Sad.
There comes a time, when the rights of an accused criminal (crossing the US border without declaring or refusing to use a port if entry is a federal criminal act), needs clarification. Federal Amnesty was designed for specific reasons… none include poverty as an excuse to evade normal entry through a port of entry. Fleeing your home, to come here, to work, or worse yet…leach… then send your benefits back to your home, is not oppression…on free food days, I’ve been at a US port conducting southbound inspections with USC and ICE and opened trunks of cars filled with American food products given away on food stamp days. Tell me how this benefited Americans? Homeless veterans? Homeless? Our poor? Any New Mexican citizen or resident?
Clarification… of existing laws…and being consistent in thier application… is lacking between Presidential administrations. This US what needs to be done…right now…imho:
You come here… do it the right way. If your here and you jumped the fence, leave, if not then you should be deported. If your a dreamer, step up… gain your citizenship the right way…if not…leave. You cannot be, a part of a greater America, if you refuse to become naturalized and become a dedicated citizen of…America…you must relinquish your dedication to Mexico or wherever you fled from… and give it to…America. Jumping the line did not make you a better person, then refusing to become an American…a CITIZEN… does nothing to enhance… America. You and your thought process of refusing to abide with American immigration laws undermines the entire biblicak concept of fairness.
Leaches… leach from our society. They teach us…nothing except disdain and contempt. Your moral compress is stuck on a slave traders mindset if you support illicit immigration… period. Supporters of illicit immigration are…in a serious mental health crisis. No one wants a leach. If you do, you have a serious mental health issue.
well said. watch and see. some day in the future this group of illegals will demand reparations and the democrats will fall all over themselves saying YES. Hakim Jeffries in congress is already stating he will divulge the identities of ICE agents at some point when dems regain power. dems will want to prosecute anyone and everyone involved in the trump administration., it will lead to civil unrest.
The Dems won’t be back on power anytime soon.
Unfortunately, Curry county is not the epicenter of NM. Without participation by Bernalillo, Santa Fe, and Dona Ana counties this plan will be of little effect in our state.
One small step for New Mexico…but we’ll take it. Thank you Curry County and thank you ICE.
New Mexico is a breeding ground for Terriots and unwelcome people
Good for Curry County.
In spite of the right-wing spin, having a secure border is a broadly popular issue. What disappointing is the leap from “secure borders are good” to “we can ignore due process; subject people to inhuman conditions; kidnap non-violent immigrants while cosplaying as masked SOF warriors; and then deport people to foreign torture camps”. None of that is broadly popular. All of it is extreme and completely contrary to the foundational ideas of America. And imaging that the immigrants in this country are a bigger problem than billionaire elites is laughable. Even if you could deport ALL of the unlawful immigrants in the USA, your boss isn’t going to pay you more money. Enabling your police force to conduct Neptune Spear reenactments on non-violent students, kitchen workers, and farmhands is about VIBES, not about actual safety or affluence. Fix your hearts.
Thank you, Sheriff Mike Brockett , for taking a stand and PROTECTING PEOPLE OVER POLITICS! Hopefully Roosevelt Co will take the same stand!
ACLU and Becca, ICE is cleaning up what the Biden administration caused. Sanctuary cities are breeding grounds for illegal to do their dirty work in promoting crime against US citizens. trafficking their own people and selling their own children for profit.
They have no shame, no soul and no respect for the rule of law.
These judges did nothing when they were coming in droves through the boarder, now they want justice for these criminals. God help us.