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LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Albuquerque mayor signs immigrant safety law

City prepared to take the federal government to court if tested 

Published Modified

Amid a nationwide federal immigration crackdown, Mayor Tim Keller signed a law restricting immigration enforcement in Albuquerque.

The law returns to a Biden-era policy scrapped by President Donald Trump just days into his second term. The “protected areas” policy forbade Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from arresting people at sensitive locations like churches, schools and hospitals.

The bill-signing at City Hall on Tuesday afternoon was met with tears and chants by immigrant rights groups, for whom family separation is a constant anxiety. 

“Now, I can drop off my kids at school and know I will be able to pick them up,” Mirna Lazcano said, in Spanish, before the bill-signing. Lazcano, originally from Chihuahua, Mexico, paused to shed a tear and her voice grew hoarse.

“Thank you for listening to the people,” she added.

While immigration rights advocates, local politicians and city staff applauded the bill- signing, some leaders and residents say the law undermines public safety and invites retribution from the Trump administration.

The “Safer Community Spaces Ordinance” passed the City Council in March on a 5-4 vote, with a core of conservative-leaning councilors voting no, including Councilors Brook Bassan, Dan Champine, Renée Grout and Dan Lewis.

Officials at the Department of Homeland Security and ICE could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday.

‘A strong consensus’

This legislation is just the latest in a series of laws at the city, county and state levels attempting to protect immigrant communities from the federal government.

In November, the Bernalillo County Commission enacted a similar law that applies across the county, including in Albuquerque. Months later, during the 30-day legislative session, New Mexican lawmakers passed a bill to prohibit counties and municipalities from contracting with ICE in an attempt to shutter immigration detention centers in the state.

“I think in New Mexico there is strong consensus,” Keller said after signing the bill into law. With the law on the books, he said that the next step, actually enforcing it, may prove more difficult.

ICE is currently embroiled in thousands of wrongful detention lawsuits. As of mid-February, judges ruled that ICE unlawfully detained someone in 4,400 cases, according to an by Reuters.

Despite surges of ICE operations in cities like Minneapolis and Los Angeles, Keller said he believes the constitution and legal system will ultimately prevail.

“The courts are going to outlast this president,” Keller said.

Working with a coalition of other cities across the nation, Albuquerque is prepared to take any violations of the new law to court, he said.

“In many ways, cities are at the front line in America holding our democracy together,” Keller said.

Gillian Barkhurst is the local government reporter for the Journal. She can be reached at gbarkhurst@abqjournal.com.