HM 51

                                1  HOUSE MEMORIAL 51
                                2    57TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 2026
                                3  INTRODUCED BY
                                4  Anita Gonzales and Michelle Paulene Abeyta
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                                10  A MEMORIAL
                                11   REQUESTING STUDIES REGARDING EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR
                                12   EMPLOYEES OF CERTAIN DETENTION CENTERS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR
                                13   THE REUSE OR REPURPOSING OF DETENTION FACILITIES.
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                                15  WHEREAS, House Bill 9, introduced in the second session of
                                16   the fifty-seventh legislature, would enact the Immigrant Safety
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                                17   Act and would prohibit public bodies from being party to
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                                18   agreements to detain individuals for federal civil immigration
                                19   violations; and
                                20  WHEREAS, New Mexico is home to three detention facilities
                                21   that contract with United States immigration and customs
                                22   enforcement, located in Cibola, Otero and Torrance counties;
                                23   and
                                24  WHEREAS, the three existing detention centers may have
                                25   employees who could experience a change in job status if the
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                                1    existing contracts with United States immigration and customs
                                2    enforcement are discontinued; and
                                3  WHEREAS, the reliance on foreign private prison
                                4    corporations results in a lack of economic diversification and
                                5    a greater risk of economic instability; and
                                6  WHEREAS, if the physical facilities comprising those
                                7    detention centers were used for different purposes, those
                                8    facilities could meet broader community and state needs and
                                9    create sustainable rural economic development opportunities;
                                10   and
                                11  WHEREAS, since 2000, twenty-one states have partially
                                12   closed or fully closed at least one correctional facility,
                                13   resulting in a trend of prison repurposing in which old prisons
                                14   are converted for community and commercial use;
                                15  NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF
                                16   REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the economic
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                                17   development department and the workforce solutions department
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                                18   be requested to study ways in which jobs related to civil
                                19   immigration detention might be replaced with new employment
                                20   opportunities; and
                                21  BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the children, youth and
                                22   families department, the corrections department and the health
                                23   care authority be requested to study ways in which the existing
                                24   detention facilities that contract with United States
                                25   immigration and customs enforcement might be used for other
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                                1    purposes, including non-civil immigration detention, patient
                                2    health care and other purposes meeting community or state
                                3    needs; and
                                4  BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the economic development
                                5    department be requested to study ways in which the state might
                                6    assist communities affected by the prohibition of civil
                                7    immigration detention through the use of state programs,
                                8    including rural development funds, the innovation in state
                                9    government fund and preferences in state procurement; and
                                10        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the results of the studies and
                                11   recommendations be delivered to the appropriate interim
                                12   legislative committees on or before October 1, 2026; and
                                13        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
                                14   transmitted to the secretary of children, youth and families,
                                15   the secretary of corrections, the secretary of economic
                                16   development, the secretary of health care authority and the
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                                17   secretary of workforce solutions.
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