The Bernalillo County district attorney has warned federal immigration officials that certain detention practices could result in criminal prosecution under state law.
Sam Bregman, district attorney for New Mexico’s Second Judicial District, sent a letter Wednesday to Bill Shaw, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement assistant field office director, raising concerns about ICE operations.
The letter specifically addresses what Bregman describes as ICE’s “nationwide pattern of unconstitutional enforcement actions” and warns that some activities by ICE agents reported in other states would be criminal under New Mexico law.
Bregman cited New Mexico’s false imprisonment statute, which defines the crime as “intentionally confining or restraining another person without his consent and with knowledge that he has no lawful authority to do so.” The statute carries felony-level penalties.
“Unless an ICE Officer has a valid warrant, lawful authority for restraint or detention under New Mexico and Federal law requires either reasonable suspicion or probable cause,” Bregman wrote.
The district attorney warned that any ICE agent who detains, confines or restrains a person in Bernalillo County without a signed warrant and without reasonable suspicion or probable cause “may be subject to prosecution.”
In his letter, Bregman expressed “deep concern about ICE procedures and operations across the country,” referencing videos and reporting that he said “raise significant questions about ICE’s willingness and ability to comply with constitutional limitations while performing their duties.”
Bregman, who is a Democratic candidate for governor, said he received no response to the letter on Wednesday.
A new internal memo from ICE, signed by acting director Todd Lyons, asserts that administrative warrants—signed only by an agency official—are now sufficient to forcibly enter people’s homes, even without a judge’s warrant, if a final order of removal is in place. This policy change, which reverses prior guidance, has been reported by The Associated Press based on the memo and a whistleblower complaint. The development raises serious concerns regarding constitutional protections against illegal searches.
The Second Judicial District includes Albuquerque, the state’s largest city, and surrounding Bernalillo County.
Albuquerque officials at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, did not respond to an email seeking comment Thursday.
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