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The state's top attorney filed lawsuits on Wednesday alleging that two New Mexico counties are violating state law by maintaining cooperative agreements with federal immigration officials.

The New Mexico Department of Justice filed two largely identical lawsuits against Torrance and Curry counties, asking state judges to order the counties to end their agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

The suits rely on the state Immigrant Safety Act, enacted this year by lawmakers, which puts restraints on state and local cooperation with ICE to arrest and detain people for federal immigration violations.

The two new lawsuits argue that the state law, which took effect this month, bans counties from maintaining so-called 287(g) agreements, which allows ICE to deputize local law enforcement officers to perform functions of federal immigration agents.

New Mexico Attorney General Ra煤l Torrez is asking the courts to order Torrance and Curry counties to terminate their 287(g) agreements with ICE.

鈥淟ocal officials take an oath to uphold the law, all of it, not just the parts they agree with,鈥� Torrez said in a statement issued Wednesday. 鈥淣o county sheriff has the authority to nullify a statute simply because he disagrees with it. That is not how our constitutional system works, and this office will not allow it to stand.鈥�

The suits, filed Wednesday in the 7th and 9th Judicial Districts, name as defendants county commissioners and sheriffs in Curry and Torrance counties.

Curry County Manager Lance Pyle said the county is reviewing the lawsuit but doesn't comment on pending litigation.

"We have not been officially served, but have received the complaint from numerous media outlets and (the) complaint has been submitted to our insurance carrier to determine our coverage," Pyle said in an email.

Torrance County officials did not respond Wednesday to a request for comment.

Much of the debate this year about the Immigrant Safety Act centered on three New Mexico detention facilities in Cibola, Torrance and Otero counties that house federal immigration detainees under agreements with ICE.

County officials argued that the detention facilities, which collectively house about 1,500 detainees, are major employers and crucial to the economies in those counties.

But the Immigrant Safety Act also prohibits counties from entering into agreements with ICE under section 287(g) of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows state and local agencies to act as immigration enforcement agents, the suits contend.

The law gives New Mexico's attorney general authority to prohibit local agreements and "broad authority" to bring legal actions against counties that violate the state law, the suits argue.

"Section 287(g) preserves state's sovereignty and autonomy to cooperate or not cooperate with the federal government," the suits allege.

Much of the public debate continues to center on detention centers that house federal immigration detainees.

Despite the new law, Otero County commissioners in March renewed a contract with ICE and continue to operate a county-owned detention facility. Torrez sought an order invalidating the service agreement while his office pursues civil litigation.

During a legislative committee hearing last week, several Democratic lawmakers said counties' refusal to enforce the new immigration law could cause them to lose legal protection under the state's Tort Claims Act.

"They need to be on alert that there will be lawsuits," said state Rep. Christine Chandler, D-Los Alamos, who said such cases could be filed against county officials in their individual capacities.

Chandler also said Otero County should not seek a state bailout for economic damages, citing a provision in the contract the county recently signed with the federal government that prevents them from opting out during the contract's five-year duration.

Journal Capitol Bureau Chief Dan Boyd contributed to this report.

Olivier Uyttebrouck covers the court system. You can reach him at olivier@abqjournal.com.