The House Consumer & Public Affairs Committee in Santa Fe, New Mexico, has passed House Bill 9, known as the Immigrant Safety Act, with a vote of 4-2. This legislation aims to prevent state and local governments from supporting the federal immigration detention system, which has been criticized for harming immigrant communities. New Mexico's three detention centers have faced allegations of human rights violations, including excessive solitary confinement and inadequate medical care.

House Bill 9 seeks to stop ICE from using local governments to avoid public scrutiny. It also blocks agreements for detaining individuals for civil immigration violations and prohibits the use of public land for such purposes. If enacted, New Mexico would become the eighth state to implement this law.

The bill now moves to the House Judiciary Committee. Several advocacy groups expressed their support during the committee hearing. Tiffany Wang from Innovation Lab Lab stated: “New Mexican communities should not be asked to contribute their resources—their tax dollars, their water, their people—to keep people locked up and to tear families and communities apart."

Max Brooks of the ACLU of New Mexico highlighted concerns over human rights violations: "New Mexico should not be in the business of enabling a detention system that routinely violates human rights and due process."

Andres Esquivel from New Mexico Dream Team noted that passing HB 9 would help move away from a system that disregards human rights. Marshall Martinez from Equality New Mexico emphasized that detention centers are unsafe for queer and trans individuals.

Jessica Martinez from NMILC explained the purpose of HB 9: “The purpose of HB 9 is clear and straightforward: to prevent state and local governments from contracting with ICE for civil immigration detention.”