Albuquerque, NM (KKOB) –It was a unanimous decision from the NM State Supreme Court on Thursday halting the state’s efforts to block an immigrant detention center contract in Otero County. A new law called the Immigrant Safety Act is set to go into effect May 20th bans counties from contracting with ICE. Otero County signed a five year contract extension with ICE in March, before the law goes into effect. The NM Department of Justice tried to challenge the contract but that was denied by the high court on Thursday. Otero County officials have stated the financial stakes of maintaining its contract with ICE because they’re still paying off about $60 million in bonds they used to build the facility in 2007. Attorney General Raul Torrez said in a statement, “We respect the Court’s decision, and we will continue to monitor the situation to ensure compliance with the new law that becomes effective in just a few weeks.”
