Cibola County manager says the county is relieved by ICE's direct contract with CoreCivic
Cibola CountyCibola County Manager Kate Fletcher, in an interview with the Santa Fe New Mexican
Cibola County Manager Kate Fletcher said the county was very relieved that the jobs at the facility would not go once ICE's direct contract with CoreCivic was finalized. She said the federal procurement moved very quickly and that she did not know how it was done.
“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”
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
An ICE contracting officer told Cibola County that the direct contract with CoreCivic would begin May 1, 2026, and asked the county to end its own agreement the day before, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
After the quotation
As of May 1, Fletcher confirmed, the county was no longer involved with ICE detainees at the facility, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
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. Fletcher welcomes the contract's result, saying the county is very relieved that the jobs will stay, so we labeled it Defended or excused. She says she does not know how ICE moved so quickly but raises no objection to the award, so Mixed or conditional does not fit.
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The Dispute Index. "Cibola County manager says the county is relieved by ICE's direct contract with CoreCivic". First published: 2026-10-20. Last updated: 2026-10-20. https://disputeindex.com/events/6131-cibola-county-manager-kate-fletcher-said-the-county