Alex Ross
El Rito Media
aross@elritomedia.com

A bill to prevent state and local government entities in New Mexico from aiding federal immigrant detention moved closer to becoming law on Thursday, Jan. 22.

Following two hours of intense debate and discussion, the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee voted 4 to 2 to pass House Bill 9, also known as the Immigrant Safety Act.

All Democrats on the committee supported advancing the bill, while its two Republican members opposed it. The bill next heads to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration.

To become law in New Mexico, state bills must be approved by at least two committees from the chamber the bill originates in, then gain approval from the full chamber. The bill then heads to the other chamber – House or Senate – for approval before it can be signed into law by the governor.

If that happens for H.B. 9, the bill would ban counties and other public bodies from entering into agreements with private contractors to house people for civil immigration law violations, such as unlawfully entering the U.S or overstaying visas.

The contracts allow counties to provide housing for federal immigration detainees, managing contracts to do so, and receiving payments from the federal government. That money is then used to pay private contractors to operate the facilities.

There are three facilities in New Mexico that operate under such agreements.

The Torrance County Detention Center in Estancia and Cibola County Detention Center in Milan are owned and operated by the Tennessee-based company CoreCivic.

The Otero County Processing Center is owned by the county but operated by Management and Training, a contractor based in Utah.

If passed, H.B. 9 would require all three contracts be terminated.

A similar bill was introduced in the 2025 regular session and, despite passing the New Mexico House of Representatives, was not taken up by the Senate.

Sponsor State Rep. Eleanor Chavez, D-Albuquerque said the proposal was in response to recent efforts by the federal government to ramp up deportations of undocumented migrants, and by concerns of conditions at federal detention facilities.

Chavez pointed to the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother by an agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minneapolis during a protest and accused the agency of “excessive force.”

Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent while driving a car on Wednesday, Jan. 7 after federal authorities said she attempted to use her vehicle as a weapon during a protest of the agency’s presence in the city. The incident touched off waves of criticism of the federal government’s tactics in enforcing immigration laws.

“We have the power to stand up against this campaign of terror and intimidation. We have the power to push back against this administration’s deportation agenda,” Chavez said.

Hostile legislation?

State Reps. Stefani Lord, R-Sandia Park, whose district is home to the Torrance County Detention Center and John Block, R-Alamogordo, whose district includes the Otero County Processing Center, said prohibiting the contracts could have dire economic consequences.

Both voted against H.B. 9 during the committee meeting.

Lord said the Torrance County Detention Center is one of the few economic opportunities in Estancia. She said prohibiting counties from participating in those agreements could lead Corecivic to shut down the facility, resulting in the loss to Torrance County of about $30 million, or 40% of its current budgeted revenue.

“You don’t have anything to put in my community to help with that situation,” she said.

Otero County Attorney R.B. Nichols testified against the bill via Zoom, noting that if the bill becomes law, the state should provide the county with funding to offset some of the economic fallout for his county.

At a Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee meeting in September 2025, Nichols said closure of the Otero County facility would lead to the loss of 284 jobs and possibly lead the county to default on $22 million in outstanding revenue bonds on the facility.

On Tuesday, Sen. Jim Townsend, R-Artesia, sent a letter for the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, requesting the agency’s “immediate attention and intervention” as H.B. 9 was being considered.

Townsend said he feared the bill he called “hostile legislation” could run afoul of federal law and impede economic growth in communities that host detention facilities.

“…I respectfully urge the Department of Justice to engage during legislative consideration of H.B. 9 – whether through a formal statement of interest, technical assistance, or other appropriate means – to ensure that New Mexico does not enact legislation that conficts with federal law and undermines federal supremacy,” read the letter.

Legislative reporter Alex Ross can be followed on X @alexrosstweets.com.

Todd Fuqua and Adrian Hedden
Ruidoso News

No horse racing at Ruidoso Downs this year – or maybe any year

Horse racing at Ruidoso Downs may be gone forever.

A state-commissioned engineering report suggesting that even massive flood mitigation measures would not protect Ruidoso Downs Racetrack from catastrophic flooding has prompted track officials to move the 2026 racing season to Albuquerque and raised concerns that the 79-year-old facility will never again operate as a venue for horse racing.

Loss of the Ruidoso Downs racing meet for the third consecutive season due to damage resulting from the South Fork and Salt fires of 2024 and subsequent flooding means another year without the estimated $150 million to $180 million in economic benefits the racetrack generates for the village of Ruidoso and surrounding area through tax revenue, visitor spending and proceeds for surrounding businesses.

Officials concerned about losing that revenue this year and in the future discussed ways to replace it during an emergency meeting of the Ruidoso Lodgers Tax Committee. The two-hour meeting on Wednesday produced ideas ranging from soliciting more world-class sporting events such as the upcoming XTERRA triathlon to an annual film festival to staging concerts featuring the world’s top entertainers.

The racetrack’s decision came Monday, Jan. 19, via a news release in response to a report from an Arizona firm hired by the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Environmental Management to propose and evaluate flood control measures that could prevent damage to the racetrack in the future.

The report by Flagstaff-based JE Fuller Hydrology and Geomorphology concluded that improvements in drainage and water detention could mitigate damage to the track in some cases but “they are not sufficient to fully resolve flooding concerns during large storm events.”

“The volume of runoff generated during these intense storms exceeds the capacity of both the proposed conveyance improvements and upstream detention, meaning that overtopping and localized flooding still occur despite the enhancements,” the report said.

The report also noted that measures sufficient to prevent flooding at the racetrack would “lead to a very high construction cost” and to increased flooding for areas downstream.

“Based on the JE Fuller findings, and our follow-up discussions with governmental agencies, the engineers specializing in hydrology and flooding concluded that the Racetrack is not sustainable as a public venue,” read the Ruidoso Downs release. “We are deeply concerned about the safety and well-being of everyone who attends Ruidoso Downs Racetrack, and our equine athletes. Continuing operations at the current site of Ruidoso Downs Racetrack is not feasible.”

The release called the decision “the most challenging and emotional choice we have ever made as an organization.”

“The racing schedule will be run at the Downs at Albuquerque and the 2026 NM Bred Sale, and the Super Select sale will be held at the Ruidoso Downs Sales pavilion in their normal time frames,” the release said. We will continue to communicate openly as we assess our next steps.”

The flooding problems at the racetrack, which is located in the city of Ruidoso Downs, were brought on by heavy summer rains flowing along burn scars left by the South Fork and Salt fires, which torched about 20,000 acres in the Ruidoso area and caused at least three deaths in June 2024.

Burn scars are areas where wildfires remove vegetation that could prevent rainfall from flooding and reduce the ability of soil to absorb water as it can become “as water-repellant as pavement,” when burned, according to the National Weather Service.

Should the scars near the racetrack face “even moderate rainfall events” of about two inches or more per hour, any expanded drainage added in response to previous floods would be overwhelmed,” the racetrack’s release said, attributing the assessment to the JE Fuller report.

“A rainfall event of two inches per hour over the fire-scarred areas creates a high risk of dangerous flooding at Ruidoso Downs Race Track that could be life threatening.”

The Fuller report was published last August and it was unclear why the Ruidoso Downs’ decision to move the race meet and reassess the track’s future was delayed until now. Ruidoso village and track officials said the decision was made when they met with state regulators Jan. 15 in Santa Fe.

Ruidoso Mayor Lynn Crawford said in a Monday statement that the racetrack was critical to the community’s economy, businesses and culture.

He said the Billy the Kid Casino that operates in conjunction with the track will remain open.

Facebook posts by the casino and Ruidoso Jockey Club asserted both would remain open with normal operating hours, including the Heritage Room restaurant from 5 to 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

It was unclear why village officials believed the casino and jockey club were safe to operate while the racetrack was not.

“This news is heartbreaking for our entire community. Ruidoso Downs Race Track is far more than a venue; it is woven into the very fabric of our region’s identity and economy,” read Crawford’s statement.

“For generations, the thundering hooves of champion quarter horses have drawn visitors from across the nation to our mountain community. The track generates vital revenue for local businesses, provides hundreds of jobs, and brings the world’s finest horsemen and women to our doorstep each summer.”

Alex Ross
El Rito Media
aross@elritomedia.com

New Mexico House Republicans insisted they, not the Democratic-controlled state government, have solutions for affordability, health care and public safety in the 30-day legislative session.

The GOP lawmakers outlined their priorities for the session, and stances on several key issues facing New Mexico during a Tuesday, Jan. 20 news conference held in Santa Fe following Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s State of the State address on the first day of the session.

“The common thread here is accountability, common sense and real results, just not rhetoric,” said House Minority Floor Leader Gail Armstrong, R-Magdalena.

Armstrong, along with House Minority Floor Whip Alan Martinez, R-Bernalillo, and House Republican Caucus Chair Rebecca Dow of Truth or Consequences, blamed Democrats for the affordability crisis they said New Mexicans are experiencing.

The Democratic Party holds all statewide offices in New Mexico and control both legislative chambers — including a 44-26 majority in the New Mexico House of Representatives.

“Families in New Mexico are working harder than ever and still falling behind. And that’s not — it’s not — some mysterious economic force. It’s the result of years of bad policies and choices that have raised taxes, raised fees and raised the cost of energy, housing and transportation,” Dow said.

Health care has dominated the agenda for Lujan Grisham and lawmakers, including proposals to allow New Mexico to enter medical care licensure compacts. The compacts provide medical professionals qualified to work in one state with the ability to do so in other states that are compact members.

In all, 14 medical compact proposals have been introduced during the session.

Armstrong indicated while the compacts are high priorities, reforming the state’s medical malpractice system should be the central focus in addressing the state’s shortage of medical professionals.

“We can’t keep pretending that coverage equals care when there’s no providers available,” she said.

On affordability, House Republicans at the conference argued that the policies of the Democratic majority have failed households when it comes to keeping pace with the cost-of-living.

Policies that House Republicans are putting forth include eliminating or reducing state income taxes, offering options for people to purchase homes with zero-down payments and banning out-of-state corporations from purchasing single-family homes.

Dow added that Republicans will also introduce a tax package that will include tax exemptions on tipped and overtime income and expansions of earned income tax credits and credits for seniors.

“People want to be resilient. They want to be self-sufficient. The only way to survive in New Mexico is (to) depend on the government. That’s just simply anti-American,” Dow said.

‘We don’t want to throw everybody in jail.’

An area where Lujan Grisham has found herself more closely aligned with Republicans than with her fellow Democrats is on crime, especially revamping the state’s juvenile justice system and enacting stricter criminal penalties.

During Tuesday’s address, the governor directed lawmakers to advance her public safety priorities, saying that “people who are committing dangerous, violent crimes must be held accountable – without hesitation, and without exception.”

At the news conference, House Republicans struck a similar tone on juvenile justice reform.

“If these kids are old enough to do violent crime, they’re old enough to be held accountable, and that’s what we want to do—common sense. We don’t want to throw everybody in jail, walk away. We want the rehabilitation side of it also, but they need to be held accountable,” Martinez said.

He added that the House Republican Caucus backs a series of bills introduced by Rep. Andrea Reeb, R-Clovis, to, among other things, expand the number of offenses for which juvenile offenders could receive adult sentences.

Despite the common ground with the governor, leading House Republicans still differed with her on Lujan Grisham’s proposal for no-cost universal childcare. In November, the state expanded childcare access to all New Mexico families regardless of income.

Republicans and some Democrats in the Legislature have voiced doubts about the landmark initiative, citing its likely long-term cost to the state and doubts that New Mexico has enough qualified providers to meet the demands.

Armstrong also voiced frustration with how the governor has implemented the childcare initiative.

“Not a single legislator got to vote on a bill to bring this forward or not. And I think the majority of the legislature has a real issue with that,” she said.

Republicans at the news conference also signaled that they may oppose the $1.5 billion transportation bill, due to the inclusion of hikes on vehicle registration fees. Armstrong said she has not yet read the bill but warned those fee increases could be “a sticking point” in winning the support of House Republicans.

Legislative reporter Alex Ross can be followed on X @alexrosstweets.