States End ICE Cooperation: The Fight to Abolish Immigration Detention Gains Momentum

New Mexico Enacts Law Ending State Cooperation With ICE, Joining National Movement

New Mexico has become the latest state to prohibit cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under a new law signed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham in February. The Immigrant Safety Act, set to take effect in May, bars state and local governments from entering agreements to detain individuals for civil immigration violations, halts the use of public land for immigration detention, and prohibits local law enforcement from acting as immigration agents.

The legislation reflects a growing national movement to limit state and municipal involvement in federal immigration enforcement, particularly under the Trump administration’s expanded deportation policies. Rebecca Sheff, a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico, told Truthout that the law responds to “how aggressive ICE has become” and represents a broader push to “take bold action” at the state level.

National Momentum Behind “Dignity, Not Detention”

New Mexico joins at least six other states—New Jersey, California, Washington, Illinois, Colorado, and Maryland—that have passed similar laws under the banner of the “Dignity, Not Detention” campaign. Launched in 2010 by the Detention Watch Network and hundreds of partner organizations, the campaign seeks to end immigration detention by targeting contracts between local governments and ICE. California was the first state to adopt such legislation in 2017, with New Mexico now the most recent to follow suit.

The laws vary by state but generally prohibit intergovernmental service agreements (IGSAs), which allow local jails or private prisons to rent bed space to ICE for detaining immigrants. In New Mexico, the Immigrant Safety Act specifically bans “pass-through” agreements, where local governments act as intermediaries between ICE and private prison companies like CoreCivic. Sheff noted that these arrangements, used at facilities such as the Torrance County Detention Facility and Cibola County Correctional Center, enable ICE to bypass federal procurement and transparency requirements.

“While we can’t tell ICE what to do directly, we are doing our part now to force ICE out of those corrupt sweetheart deals and to withhold our state involvement in ICE detention,” Sheff said.

Immigration Detention at Record Highs Under Trump

The push to end state cooperation with ICE comes as immigration detention reaches historic levels. According to data from the Vera Institute of Justice, over 60,000 people are currently detained in 425 facilities nationwide—less than 2% of the 3.4 million individuals in removal proceedings. The Trump administration’s aggressive enforcement policies have contributed to a surge in detentions, with 300,000 migrants arrested in the first six months of 2025 alone.

Conditions in immigration detention have also deteriorated, with mortality rates reaching a 22-year high. At least 48 people have died in ICE custody since January 2025, according to reporting by The Guardian. Sophia Genovese, an attorney and teaching fellow at Georgetown University, told Truthout that the Trump administration’s policies have created conditions amounting to “torture” and “medical neglect,” with detention used as a tool to deter migration.

“People are being tortured. People are suffering medical neglect, and now this year is the deadliest year on record for immigrants in detention.”

Sophia Genovese, attorney and teaching fellow at Georgetown University

Grassroots Organizing Drives Legislative Success

Advocates credit the success of New Mexico’s law to grassroots organizing that centered the experiences of those most affected by detention. Jessica Inés Martínez, director of policy and coalition building at the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, emphasized the importance of listening to impacted communities. “When you’re truly listening to those most impacted, and you center them, and build the law around that—that’s how you really make a meaningful piece of legislation,” she said.

The Immigrant Safety Act also prohibits 287(g) agreements, which delegate immigration enforcement powers to local law enforcement. Sheff argued that such agreements divert police from their core duties and enable ICE to “snatch people from our streets.” The law’s passage follows years of advocacy, including a 2019 attempt to introduce similar legislation.

Similar efforts are underway in other states. In New York, the Dignity Not Detention Coalition, comprising over 150 organizations, is pushing for the Dignity Not Detention Act, which would ban immigration detention contracts statewide. Tania Mattos, executive director of UnLocal, a New York-based immigrant legal services provider, noted that ICE detentions in the state surged after Trump’s return to office, with more than 70 detention agreements currently in place.

“It’s about thinking about folks’ survival,” Mattos said. “It’s about, ‘Let’s eliminate that system that is essentially killing people and making people suffer.’”

Federalism Enables State-Level Resistance

Legal experts and advocates highlight the role of federalism in enabling states to challenge federal immigration policies. The 10th Amendment reserves significant powers for states, allowing them to refuse cooperation with ICE on civil immigration matters. “There is so much that we have the authority to do at the state level to keep our communities safe,” Sheff said. “We are not required to cooperate with ICE when it comes to civil immigration detention.”

While civil immigration detention is a relatively recent policy choice, its expansion under the Trump administration has galvanized opposition. Genovese noted that successful campaigns avoid framing the issue as a “good-versus-bad immigrant” debate, instead emphasizing dignity and abolitionist values. “Successful campaigns for abolition live up to their values and don’t shy away from hard, nuanced conversations,” she said.

For organizers facing setbacks, Mattos offered encouragement: “My advice is just to not give up. People are fighting all over the country in the movement towards ending the suffering of immigrants in detention.”