(filed May 8, 2026)
U.S. v. State of New Mexico, et al. - The Trump Administration initially sued the state of New Mexico over its HB9 law (the Immigrant Safety Act) that was enacted February 5, 2026, and was scheduled to go into effect May 20, 2026. The law prohibits state and local government agencies, including the sheriff’s department, from entering into agreements to detain people for federal civil immigration violations, imposes restrictions on use of public property for detaining people, prohibits 287(g) agreements, among other things. Additionally, the initial lawsuit sued the City of Albuquerque over its ordinance (the Safer Community Places Ordinance No. 2026-009), which became effective March 30, 2026. Generally, the ordinance prohibits the use of city property for immigration enforcement purposes, including the use of city property as a staging area, processing location, or operation base. Specifically, the government argues that the state law disrupts the intergovernmental service agreement (IGSA) Otero County has with ICE regarding the Otero County Processing Center, which is the most recent IGSA that went into effect March 16, 2026. The government also argues the state law disrupts the current 287(g) agreements it has with Torrance County and Curry County. On June 22, 2026, the government amended its complaint to include Doña Ana County for its resolution (Safe Communities for All Residents No. 2026-67) that similarly prohibits the county, its employees, or agents from authorizing permits or contracts regarding their county property for the purposes of immigration enforcement, among other things. The government also included a challenge to Bernalillo County’s ordinance (Safer Community Places No. 2025-33), which is similar to the City of Albuquerque’s ordinance. Generally, the government argues that all these laws are preempted by federal law and discriminate against the federal government. On July 6, 2026, a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim was filed by the state and localities.