sa国际传媒官网网页入口

The federal government is taking aim at New Mexico and sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 sanctuary policies.

The U.S. Department of Justice asked a federal judge Friday to invalidate newly enacted protections limiting immigration enforcement and detention in the state.

鈥淭he state of New Mexico and the City of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 seek to intentionally obstruct federal law enforcement by preventing cooperation between local governments and the federal government,鈥� Ryan Ellison, first assistant U.S. attorney for New Mexico, said in a statement.

In particular, the DOJ is seeking an immediate court order to allow U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to continue jailing individuals in New Mexico detention facilities after a new state law called the Immigrant Safety Act goes into effect May 20. 

鈥淭he sole purpose of HB9 is to express discontent with the federal immigration policies of the current administration,鈥� states the 53-page lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in sa国际传媒官网网页入口.

The new state law bars public entities from entering into, renewing or extending contracts to detain individuals for federal immigration violations.

But the DOJ contends that disagreements over policy aren鈥檛 a legitimate reason to cancel current detention facility agreements in New Mexico and ban all future agreements allowing ICE to detain individuals facing immigration violations.

The lawsuit focuses on the Otero County processing center in southern New Mexico, which houses up to 1,096 men and women and employs about 284 people. The facility has been housing ICE detainees since 2008.

If Otero County is forced to cancel its contract with ICE, the lawsuit states, the Department of Homeland Security 鈥渨ill be forced to transfer many detainees hundreds of miles away to other states, such as the Fort Bliss facility鈥� in El Paso, Texas. Meanwhile, Otero County would lose significant revenue and jobs.

New Mexico Attorney General Ra煤l Torrez issued a statement defending the new law.

鈥淭he New Mexico Legislature passed this law after extensive consideration of documented harms occurring in immigration detention facilities operating in this state 鈥� inadequate medical care, deaths in custody and conditions that fell well below acceptable standards,鈥� he stated.

鈥淭he Legislature made a considered judgment that New Mexico's government, its employees, and its publicly funded facilities should not be instruments of a detention system that has caused serious and preventable harm to people held within our borders,鈥� Torrez continued. 鈥淭hat is precisely the kind of policy judgment that belongs to the states.鈥� 

The DOJ lawsuit contends that sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 new Safer Community Places Ordinance goes even further to infringe on federal immigration enforcement authority.

In a statement Friday, sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Mayor Tim Keller said, 鈥淚 will always stand up for the safety, rights and dignity of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 residents. Our policies ensure ALL families can call 911, send their kids to school, and access City services without fear, while making clear that City resources are not tools for federal immigration raids. We are ready to defend our community, our values, and our public safety in court.鈥�

City Councilor Dan Lewis said Keller 鈥渄eserves to be sued.鈥� Lewis said immigrant sanctuary policies are dangerous, undermine cooperation between law enforcement agencies and put everyone at risk.

鈥淪anctuary laws don't protect; they create more victims,鈥� Lewis said in a statement Friday, adding he opposed the city鈥檚 Safer Community Places Ordinance from the start.

鈥淚t's nothing more than obstruction of law enforcement and this mayor chose his radical ideology over public safety,鈥� Lewis continued. 鈥淢ost people in our City agree that there is a public safety benefit when local, state and federal law enforcement work together to enforce the law and protect innocent people.鈥�

The ordinance, signed by Keller, limits federal immigration enforcement in schools, hospitals, churches, shelters and city-owned facilities. Construction zones and courthouses are also off-limits to ICE without warrants, under the measure, which passed the City Council in March on a 5-4 vote.

The ordinance reestablishes a Biden-era policy that banned ICE from making arrests at certain locations like schools, courthouses or houses of worship.

The city's policy does not impede federal law enforcement from entering these locations if they have a judicial warrant or if there is an "imminent threat to bodily harm."

The city's policy also requires businesses to inform staff if their employment paperwork, such as I-9 work authorization forms, is audited. Business owners must also warn employees if they are notified that an immigration enforcement agent will be present on-site.

Businesses applying for a license in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 must clearly mark the public and private areas of their businesses with signage to discourage ICE agents from entering break rooms or employee areas without warrants.

The ordinance also forbids ICE from using city property, including parking lots and parks, as staging areas for operations.

The DOJ asks a federal judge in New Mexico to declare that both the state law and city ordinance are preempted by federal law and are unconstitutional and invalid.

The federal lawsuit is similar to several others filed over the past year in states and cities with sanctuary policies.

A federal judge in late March dismissed the U.S. government鈥檚 lawsuit against Colorado and Denver. The lawsuit alleged that various local policies violated the U.S. Constitution by impeding federal immigration enforcement.

That ruling came after federal courts in Illinois and New York rejected similar DOJ lawsuits attacking so-called 鈥渟anctuary jurisdictions.鈥�