EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – New Mexico state legislators on Friday will discuss cutting ties with companies that house detained migrants and banning the use of state lands for migrant detention.
House Bill 9, also known as the Immigrant Safety Act, makes its way in the Senate after clearing the floor of the House of Representatives by a 35-25 vote on March 7.
Advocacy organizations are rooting for passage of the Democratic-led plan to prevent state and local governments from having anything to do with detaining individuals for civil immigration violations.
“Behind each detention bed is a human being: Parents separated from their children, workers torn from their communities and asylum-seekers who fled violence only to face new trauma in detention,” said Jessica Martinez, director of policy and coalition building at the New Mexico Immigration Law Center.
Advocates including the American Civil Liberties Union allege three migrant detention centers in New Mexico repeatedly have been accused of human rights violations – like inadequate medical care and excessive use of solitary confinement.
“We urge the Senate to act swiftly to complete this important work and end New Mexico’s complicity with this harmful system,” Martinez said earlier this month.
The act requires the termination of existing agreements with private companies or the federal government.
The Senate Health and Public Affairs committee hearing can be seen online beginning at 1:30 p.m. MDT.
New Mexico Democrats control both the state House and Senate. But four Democrats and all 21 Republicans in the House voted against the bill March 7. Five Democrats were also absent from the vote.
A Feb. 27 House agency analysis of HB 9 characterized the financial impact to state coffers as minimal, but raised red flags regarding potential lost revenue and job losses in three counties housing privately-run U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers: Otero, Torrance and Cibola counties.
Cibola County could lose $180,000 in tax revenue and 300 jobs with a $10.8 million annual payroll from Tennessee-based CoreCivic, according to the state staff analysis.
The Torrance County Detention Facility has an intergovernmental service agreement with ICE that represents 80% of the operating budget for the facility. If those funds dry up, the facility might stop operating and the cost of moving non-immigrant detainees somewhere else could run into the millions, according to the analysis.
The Otero County Processing Center was funded through a revenue bond in 2007 that won’t be paid off until 2028.
“The proposed legislation causes the revenue bond to default, resulting in a significant investment loss to the bondholders,” the analysis states. “By passing the legislation, the state will be sending a message that deters future investment in the state and Otero County.”
The OCPC employs 250 and was built specifically for immigration processing and immigration court, according to the analysis. If the facilities close, detained migrants would have to be moved to other states.
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