Immigration attorneys oppose R-24-45, aim to keep Albuquerque immigrant-friendly

FOR RELEASE: JUNE 3, 2024

On May 6, 2024, Albuquerque City Council members introduced R-24-45, a concerning amendment to Albuquerque’s Immigrant Friendly Policy, originally adopted in 2000 and reaffirmed in 2017. The amendment seeks to gut the Immigrant Friendly Policy by carving out an exemption that instructs the City to contact and cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when interacting with individuals who are charged - not convicted - of a felony involving violence, human trafficking, or trafficking of a controlled substance. The amendment purportedly addresses public safety, however, as experts in our field of immigration law, we know that if this amendment passes, it will have serious unintended consequences on public safety.

Santa Fe Dreamers Project (SFDP) and New Mexico Immigrant Law Center (NMILC) are two state-wide nonprofits that provide direct legal services to immigrant survivors of serious crimes, domestic violence, and vulnerable youth and children who have survived abuse, abandonment, and neglect.

As immigration attorneys who represent survivors, we currently advise our clients in good faith that the City and law enforcement does not work with ICE and that they should feel safe contacting the police to report their victimization or a crime they witness without fear of being handed over to ICE.

We have also worked with survivors whose abusers have used the legal system against them, making false accusations against the victim and having them arrested - a common tactic among abusers. If this amendment passes, it will empower abusers to falsely report their victims so that they will be deported based on charges alone - before they are given an opportunity to resolve their case and participate in the prosecution of their abuser.

We know with certainty that any collaboration between ICE and the police means immigrant families will live in fear and suffer in silence, especially children. Youth and children will be fearful of reporting abuse if they believe their family will be subject to deportation.

“Albuquerque’s current Immigrant Friendly Policy does not interfere with the Police Department’s or District Attorney’s ability to enforce current laws. Furthermore, there is NO evidence or data to prove any correlation between deportation rates and lower crime rates. ”

At SFDP, we helped a client who was grossly charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, which was later dropped to a petty misdemeanor after the prosecution understood the facts of the case. Our client was able to obtain his Lawful Permanent Residency thereafter. Had R-24-45 been adopted and in effect at the time of his arrest, our client would have been transferred to immigration custody and quickly deported without even being convicted of a crime. He would have lost the opportunity to fight the charge, to apply for residency, and he would have lost his family, home and business in the process.

Albuquerque’s current Immigrant Friendly Policy does not interfere with the Police Department’s or District Attorney’s ability to enforce current laws. Furthermore, there is NO evidence or data to prove any correlation between deportation rates and lower crime rates. R-24-45 does not address the root causes of crime and would subject the City to costly litigation and liability and work contrary to its original intent: to foster trust between immigrant communities and local law enforcement. The issues we present only scratch the surface of the problems with this amendment.

We are safer as a community when we approach policy by working with those most impacted. This harmful amendment would break the trust nurtured over the past 24 years since the resolution was originally passed. We urge city councilors to vote against this amendment and listen to the experts that work with immigrants every day. Let’s support immigrant-friendly policies that are conducive to public safety, uphold civil rights, and honor the many contributions of immigrants in our city.

Signed,

Deshawnda Chaparro,
Esq., Legal Director at Santa Fe Dreamers Project

Jessica I. Martínez,
Esq., Director of Policy and Coalition Building at New Mexico Immigrant Law Center