NEWS
ICE agents detain man outside clinic in Santa Fe
New Mexico Democrats speak out: 'This cruelty has no place in our communities'
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SANTA FE 鈥� Jasmin Milz was late to work Wednesday morning, but when she pulled into the parking lot at La Familia Medical Clinic on Alto Street around 9:30 a.m., her concern over tardiness was replaced by another worry: A crowd forming around armed officers wearing masks, sunglasses and vests stitched with the acronym 鈥淚CE.鈥�
鈥淥ur safety officer, our chief administrative officer, our chief medical officer and our chief clinical officer were outside surveying the situation, trying to make sure that nothing escalated or anything like that,鈥� said Milz, chief information officer for La Familia.
Milz and other witnesses say agents detained a man who had arrived at the clinic with a child, but U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the incident.
鈥淚 know that they took him in custody after the family member came for the minor, and you know, basically that then they all sped off,鈥� Milz said.
The federal agents left the parking lot around 10:30 a.m. and didn鈥檛 enter the clinic itself. Milz said the officers had allegedly followed the man as he drove to the clinic.
While some people in the parking lot filmed the incident and took photos, Milz said no altercations with ICE officers took place.
Several violent confrontations have taken place between immigration officers and U.S. citizens during President Donald Trump鈥檚 second administration, which has overseen an increase in ICE activity, including at medical facilities, schools and houses of worship.
Among conservatives, the uptick in ICE activity is an answer to a surge in immigration under former President Joe Biden. Meanwhile, mostly Democrats 鈥� including elected officials in New Mexico 鈥� continue to decry ICE activity as often dangerous, illegal and inhumane.
I鈥檓 on my way to the Torrance County Detention Facility to inspect it and ask questions about why ICE took a 13-year-old鈥檚 parents and left her stranded in the parking lot of a health clinic in Santa Fe today.
鈥� Rep. Teresa Leger Fern谩ndez (@RepTeresaLF)
This cruelty has no place in our communities.
鈥淚鈥檓 on my way to the Torrance County Detention Facility to inspect it and ask questions about why ICE took a 13-year-old鈥檚 parents and left her stranded in the parking lot of a health clinic in Santa Fe today,鈥� U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fern谩ndez, D-N.M., said in a post on X. 鈥淭his cruelty has no place in our communities.鈥�
Former U.S. secretary of the Interior and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Deb Haaland posted a video to Facebook, calling the incident 鈥渦nacceptable.鈥�
鈥淚 want you to know that I will do whatever I can to keep our communities safe,鈥� she said.
Legislators this year passed House Bill 9, known as the Immigrant Safety Act, which Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law in February.
Intended to forbid governments in New Mexico from contracting with the federal authorities to enter into or renew immigration detention facilities contracts, the new law is the focus of an ongoing federal lawsuit.
John Miller is the Journal鈥檚 northern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at jmiller@abqjournal.com.
