New Mexico Joins Growing List of States Cutting Ties With ICE to Resist Deportation Machine

New Mexico is the latest state to say enough is enough with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the Immigrant Safety Act into law this February, a groundbreaking measure that prohibits state and local governments from cooperating with ICE detention efforts. The law stops the use of public land for immigration detention, bans agreements that turn local police into immigration agents, and puts an end to contracts that detain individuals for civil immigration violations. It goes into effect this May.

This legislation is part of a growing national pushback against ICE’s aggressive deportation tactics under the Trump administration. Activists and legal advocates see cutting off local and state cooperation as one of the most effective ways to throw a wrench in the deportation machine. Rebecca Sheff of the ACLU of New Mexico, who helped draft the law, told Truthout this surge in legislation reflects a political moment ripe for bold action against ICE’s overreach.

New Mexico joins a list of at least half a dozen states, including California, New Jersey, Washington, Illinois, Colorado, and Maryland, that have passed similar “Dignity, Not Detention” laws. These laws stem from a national campaign launched in 2010 by the Detention Watch Network and hundreds of allied groups aiming to dismantle the cruel immigration detention system.

In New York, organizers are pushing the Dignity Not Detention Act, which would ban the state from owning or operating immigration detention centers and require termination of existing contracts with ICE. With over 70 ICE contracts statewide and a surge in detentions since Trump’s return to the White House, this legislation could effectively abolish immigration detention in New York.

The urgency of these laws is underscored by grim statistics. Immigration jails have long been sites of abuse and neglect, but conditions have worsened dramatically under Trump. The number of detained immigrants has soared to over 60,000 across 425 facilities nationwide, while deaths in ICE custody have reached the highest levels in decades—at least 48 since Trump took office.

Sophia Genovese, a Georgetown University attorney and researcher, bluntly summarizes the situation: “People are being tortured. People are suffering medical neglect, and now this year is the deadliest year on record for immigrants in detention.” The Trump administration’s policies deliberately create these brutal conditions to deter migration and punish those seeking safety.

Ending state and local cooperation with ICE is a critical frontline in resisting this cruelty. As Genovese explains, ICE nearly always detains people before deporting them, making the ability to hold detainees essential to its operation. By shutting down these detention agreements, states like New Mexico are directly obstructing the deportation pipeline.

This legal resistance is more than symbolic—it is a lifeline for thousands trapped in a system designed to disappear them. As grassroots coalitions build momentum nationwide, the fight to end immigration detention is gaining real power. New Mexico’s new law is a clear message: the era of unquestioned ICE cooperation is over.