Innovation Law Lab calls continued detention at Torrance a rebuke of the people's will
Innovation Law LabIan Philabaum, director of legal organizing, in an interview with the Santa Fe New Mexican
Ian Philabaum of Innovation Law Lab said continued immigration detention at the Torrance County facility after the Immigrant Safety Act is a direct rebuke of the will of the people, and called the sole-source contracting a clear violation of administrative procedures.
“That this facility would continue to operate as an immigration detention center in the wake of the passage of Immigrant Safety Act in New Mexico is a direct rebuke of the will of the people”
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 that ICE's direct contract with CoreCivic for the Cibola and Torrance facilities took effect May 1, 2026, with ICE's confirmation and comments from Innovation Law Lab and Cibola County's manager.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
ICE's direct contract with CoreCivic for the Cibola and Torrance facilities took effect May 1, 2026, keeping both open after the counties left their agreements.
After the quotation
He argued that the contracting process should invalidate the contracts.
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. Philabaum calls the continued detention a rebuke of the will of the people and the contracting a violation of procedures, so we labeled it Condemned. His criticism targets the contract and its result, not a description of it, so Challenged characterization does not fit.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, CoreCivic
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. "Innovation Law Lab calls continued detention at Torrance a rebuke of the people's will". First published: 2026-10-20. Last updated: 2026-10-20. https://disputeindex.com/events/6130-ian-philabaum-of-innovation-law-lab-said-continued