Rep. Eleanor Chávez says the federal government does not respect New Mexico law
Eleanor ChávezDemocratic state representative and lead sponsor of the Immigrant Safety Act, in an interview with the Santa Fe New Mexican
Rep. Eleanor Chávez, lead sponsor of the Immigrant Safety Act, said it was disappointing that the federal government and the Trump administration do not respect New Mexico laws and are going to do what New Mexicans do not want.
“While I don’t think that we’re necessarily surprised by this, it’s disappointing that the federal government and the Trump administration don’t respect New Mexico laws, and basically are going to do what the people of New Mexico don’t want anyway”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
ICE gives CoreCivic a no-bid contract to keep two New Mexico detention centers open; advocates sue for the records
After New Mexico barred counties from detention agreements with ICE, the agency gave CoreCivic a sole-source contract to keep holding immigrants at the Torrance County Detention Facility and the Cibola County Correctional Center. Immigrant legal advocates say ICE bypassed competitive bidding and have sued for the contract records. ICE's notice said CoreCivic was the only operator able to meet its requirements in time.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Report on ICE's notice of intent to contract directly with CoreCivic, with comments from the lead sponsor of the Immigrant Safety Act and the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
ICE posted a notice on March 10, 2026, of its intent to contract directly with CoreCivic for the Cibola and Torrance detention facilities, removing the counties that the Immigrant Safety Act barred from such agreements.
After the quotation
She also tied the federal interest in a direct contract to the Trump administration's broader push to deport as many people as possible.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is ICE's sole-source contract with CoreCivic to keep detaining immigrants at the Torrance and Cibola facilities after the Immigrant Safety Act. Chávez says the plan shows the federal government does not respect New Mexico laws, which criticizes the move itself, so we labeled it Condemned. She does not say she would accept it under any condition, so Mixed or conditional does not fit.
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- People and groups discussed
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
More from this case
Read the full caseImmigrant law center says ICE is trying to evade New Mexico's law
New Mexico Immigrant Law Center
“Our communities spoke up and passed the Immigrant Safety Act to say that we refuse to be complicit in locking up immigrants, yet ICE is doing everything in its power to retain and expand Trump’s cruel detention and deportation machine in our state We’re requesting these documents because New Mexicans deserve to know why ICE and the Trump administration are attempting to evade our laws while they continue to subject people to inhumane detention.”Read statement
ACLU of New Mexico says ICE replaced one underhanded contract with another
ACLU of New Mexico
“We’re concerned that ICE just replaced one underhanded contract with another The state made it clear with the passage of the Immigrant Safety Act that New Mexico stands against the mistreatment and abuse of people in these detention facilities. ICE cannot continue to operate here without accountability.”Read statement
Cibola County manager says the county is relieved by ICE's direct contract with CoreCivic
Cibola County
“The jobs won’t go, and we’re very relieved — so relieved I was kind of concerned, because in state government procurement would take longer. They did it very quickly, and I don’t know how they did it, but they’re doing a federal procurement, not state”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Rep. Eleanor Chávez says the federal government does not respect New Mexico law". First published: 2026-10-20. Last updated: 2026-10-20. https://disputeindex.com/events/6129-rep-eleanor-ch%C3%A1vez-lead-sponsor-of-the-immigrant