Alex Ross
El Rito Media
aross@elritomedia.com

A ban on local entities entering into immigrant detention agreements with the federal government passed the New Mexico House of Representatives on Friday, Jan. 30.

House Bill 9, also known as the Immigrant Safety Act, passed on a 40-29 vote with Democratic Reps. Martha Garcia of Pine Hill, Wonda Johnson of Rehoboth and Patricia Lundstrom of Gallup joining all 26 Republican representatives in opposing the bill. One Democrat, Joseph Sanchez of Alcalde, was absent and did not cast a vote.

The measure now will be considered by the Senate and if it passes that chamber will head to the desk of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

Lujan Grisham, who placed HB 9 on her agenda for lawmakers to take up during the 30-day legislative session, would have until March 11 to sign or veto the bill. If the governor takes no action, the bill is subject to an automatic veto and will not become law.

HB 9 would prohibit public bodies in New Mexico, including state agencies, county and municipal governments, law enforcement agencies and school districts from entering into or maintaining agreements with ICE to host facilities used to detain individuals accused of civil immigration violations such as entering the U.S. illegally or overstaying visas.

Under such agreements the local government receives federal payments for housing detainees and uses the money to contract with private companies to operate the facilities.

Under HB 9, Cibola, Otero and Torrance counties, which are party to such agreements, would have to end their involvement.

An amendment added to the bill by the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, Jan. 28, also bars local bodies from entering into or continuing agreements that deputize state or local law enforcement to take part in certain immigration enforcement duties.

Passage of HB 9 came amid continuing controversy over President Donald Trump’s border enforcement policies and the actions of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officers, particularly in response to anti-ICE demonstrations in Minneapolis and other U.S. cities.

Following the vote, House Democrats applauded passage of the bill, as a signal that New Mexico will no longer take part in immigration enforcement or detention.

State Rep. Angelica Rubio (D-35) of Las Cruces, and one of the bill’s co-sponsors, said in a news release from House Democrats that HB9 “is about protecting our friends, our neighbors, and our family members from pain and suffering at the hands of untrained, unchecked, masked federal agents and for-profit detention facilities.

“New Mexico is making a clear statement that we want no part of the Trump administration’s chaotic and increasingly violent deportation machine.”

Republicans are staunchly opposed to the bill, arguing that prohibiting the contracts will lead to job losses and cause ICE to close detention facilities.

State Sen. Jim Townsend (R-34) of Artesia, whose district includes Otero County, criticized Democrats who supported the measure in a Jan. 31 Facebook post in which he accused them of killing jobs “because they hate Trump more than they love New Mexicans.”

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

Todd Fuqua
Ruidoso News
tfuqua@elritomedia.com

A movie filmed in Ruidoso has been nominated for an Academy Award for visual effects.

The film, entitled The Lost Bus, tells the story of school bus driver Kevin McKay, who had to navigate a bus carrying 22 children and their teachers to safety during the Camp Fire, which devastated much of Paradise, California, in 2018.

Directed by Paul Greengrass, The Lost Bus stars Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey as McKay. Filming was done in and around Ruidoso because the area’s landscape resembled the California region where the Camp Fire occurred, according to an account posted on the Discover Ruidoso tourism website. The local scenes were shot in the spring of 2024, before Ruidoso suffered its own devastation from the Salt and South Fork fire.

“Ruidoso’s soaring pines, winding mountain roads, and even parts of Midtown provided the perfect backdrop for several of the film’s most intense scenes,” read the report on discoverruidoso.com. “Additional filming took place in Santa Fe, Española, Truchas, and Glorieta, where New Mexico’s diverse landscapes helped recreate the desperate escape at the heart of the story.”

“It’s awesome and amazing that Ruidoso has a $200 million feature film that’s been nominated,” said Eddie Ryan, film liaison for the Village of Ruidoso. “All it does is show that this is a viable filming community. If it wins, Ruidoso will have an Oscar-winning film under its belt.”

Nominations for the annual film industry awards presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences were announced Jan. 22. The awards, popularly known as the Oscars, will be presented Sunday, March 15, at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California.

The ceremony will be televised live on the ABC network and streamed on Hulu starting at 5 p.m. Mountain time.

Besides The Lost Bus, this year’s nominees for Best Achievement in Visual Effects are Avatar: Fire and Ash; F1: The Movie; Jurassic World: Rebirth; and Sinners.

The films were selected for their groundbreaking technical achievements, according to information posted on the Internet Movie Database.

Todd Fuqua is Editor for the Ruidoso News and can be reached at 575-937-0344.

Alex Ross
El Rito Media
aross@elritomedia.com

Lawmakers blocked a proposal to give more power to district judges in New Mexico to deny bail for those charged with violent crime.

The House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee on Thursday, Jan. 29, tabled the measure on a 4-2 party-line vote, with the committee Democrats supporting the motion to table while its two Republicans opposed it.

Once tabled, the committee must take separate vote to bring the bill back up for consideration and potentially a vote to pass. Legislation must clear two committees in the chamber where it originates before going before the full body.

House Joint Resolution 2 would put a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot in the Nov. 4 election that, if approved by voters, would allow a judge to presume a person is a danger to the public if they are charged with a dangerous or violent felony or represent a flight risk.

Currently, to incarcerate someone charged with a felony before a trial, the prosecution must prove in a separate court hearing that the defendant is a danger to the public.

HJR 2 would allow a court to determine a defendant was such a risk without a hearing, by deciding if the offense was a “serious, violent offense,” such as murder or aggravated battery. The defense would be allowed to rebut such a decision.

The amendment would have also allowed someone to be held without bail if they are deemed a flight risk. Reps. Andrea Reeb (R-64) of Clovis and Nicole Chavez (R-31) of Albuquerque, sponsored the resolution.

Lujan Grisham, a Democrat who will term out of office at the end of the year, has been a proponent of the measure and other enhanced criminal penalties, putting her at odds with much of her own party, which controls both legislative chambers.

Jonathan Ibarra, a public defender and the president of the New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers’ Association, argued during the public comment portion of the meeting that HJR 2 would unduly shift the legal system away from placing the burden of proof on the prosecution to prove guilt.

“The presumption of innocence should mean something,” he said.

The committee’s two Republicans, state Rep. John Block (R-51) of Alamogordo and Stefani Lord (R-22) of Sandia Park, expressed outrage that HJR 2 did not pass the committee.

The two are frequent critics of Lujan Grisham but urged the governor to call a special session for lawmakers to reconsider HJR 2.

“It’s shameful that this has not passed this committee, and so this is a message for the governor: ‘Please call a special session, demand this be on your call,’” Block said.

When reached for comment about Block’s suggestion, Michael Coleman, the governor’s communications director, told El Rito Media that all options are on the table when it comes to Lujan Grisham’s priorities and that she still believes New Mexico needs bail reform.

“Everyone knows that Gov. Lujan Grisham is not afraid to call a special session if it’s in the best interest of New Mexicans and that hasn’t changed,” Coleman said.

Lujan Grisham has called seven special legislative sessions since she was sworn into office in 2019.

That included one in July 2024, where she called lawmakers back to Santa Fe to act on a series of public safety proposals after they did not consider them during the regular 30-day session that year.

The session ended hours later with lawmakers only approving relief funds for the Ruidoso area in the wake of the South Fork and Salt fires earlier that spring.

2nd-degree murder penalty increase shot down

The committee on Thursday also tabled another priority of Lujan Grisham’s, House Bill 59, which would have increased the state’s maximum penalty for second-degree murder.

Sponsored by Reeb, Block and Rep. Luis Terrazas, R-39 of Santa Clara, HB 59 would have increased the maximum penalty for second-degree murder from 18 to 25 years in prison.

Reeb, a longtime prosecutor, said the revision is necessary because the current maximum sentence is the same as that for certain other non-violent offenses such as first-degree kidnapping and drug trafficking.

“So, if you kill somebody, you’re treated the same as someone who’s a second-time drug trafficker,” Reeb said.

Critics on the committee noted that the maximum penalty for second-degree murder was elevated in 2024 when the legislature passed, and Lujan Grisham signed a bill to increase the second-degree murder penalty from 15 to 18 years.

“So, it’s been in effect for less than two years,” said Rep. Liz Thomson (D-24) of Albuquerque, arguing not enough time had passed to rate the effectiveness of the statute.

Lolita Moskowitz, staff attorney with ACLU New Mexico, said she believes that bills like HB 59, which increase sentences, do not result in improved public safety.

“Various proposals this year seek to engage the same response, increased penalties, which will not deliver the community safety that New Mexicans deserve,” Moskowitz said.

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