Albuquerque officials are launching a comprehensive strategy this spring to protect immigrants amid growing uncertainty about federal enforcement.
Mayor Tim Keller and city councilors will introduce an ordinance in early March to permanently ban federal agents from using city resources. The move is part of the city’s Defend ABQ program. Alongside the new law, the city will host free, anonymous “know your rights” webinars for residents.
“Our fight is in Congress, our fight is in the courts, and our fight is in our communities,” U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury said at a Feb. 17 town hall with Keller. “One of the most important things is to help prepare our community to be safe.”
Council President Klarissa Peña and councilors Joaquin Baca, Stephanie Telles and Nicole Rogers are sponsoring the ordinance. It would turn Keller’s July 2025 executive order into city law, making the protections harder to undo. Unlike an executive order, which a future mayor could scrap, the ordinance would require a City Council vote to reverse.
What the ordinance does
Keller said the proposed ordinance, which would turn his executive orders into permanent law, aims to push back against federal overreach.
The measure would bar Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from using city facilities or parking lots and designate certain areas as legal “safe spaces,” restricting federal agents from entering nonpublic areas like back offices or child care spaces without a judicial warrant.
Keller said the city has made all data sharing illegal, ensuring residents can call 911 or 311 without fear of their information — including data from the license plate reader system or public safety departments — being shared with ICE or leading to deportation.
If federal agents violate the law, local police have a “duty to intervene” to stop the violation. He added that the city owns all body camera footage for accountability.
Baca told City Desk the stakes go beyond protecting immigrants. “They’re essentially terrorizing entire cities at this point,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a person of color or an immigrant.”
“This ordinance is really built on love,” Telles said. “Love for our communities because they are scared. What’s needed right now is to ease people’s minds.”
Telles said the city wants to match its protections with existing Bernalillo County rules. She said aligning the two makes the laws easier for everyone to understand and follow. “Strengthening enforceability is key,” Telles said. “It’s instrumental to do an ordinance like this.”
What’s already in place
The new ordinance builds on Albuquerque’s Immigrant Friendly Policy, first passed in 2000 and reaffirmed in 2017. The policy bars police from asking about immigration status or sharing data with federal agents. Peña helped lead the 2017 effort to keep those protections in place.
In 2024, the policy survived a 5-4 vote after councilors sought changes that would have let police contact ICE when someone was charged with certain violent or drug crimes, even without a conviction.
Bernalillo County passed the Safer Community Places Ordinance in November 2025, which protects hospitals, schools, churches, shelters, courthouses and domestic violence centers. Federal agents must show a judicial warrant to enter any private areas in these spaces.
At the state level, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the Immigrant Safety Act, House Bill 9, on Feb. 5. The law prevents public bodies across New Mexico from contracting with federal agencies to detain people and, starting May 20, bans the use of public property for any federal immigration enforcement.
What residents can do
Stansbury encouraged residents to organize and understand what their rights are, noting her office can provide casework assistance or referrals to legal experts at (505) 346-6781.
Keller said the APD will confirm whether an incident involves ICE or routine local police work, and will post updates on social media to keep rumors from spreading.
The city’s Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs is hosting free, anonymous webinars this spring.
Online Webinars (6 p.m. via Zoom):
- March 4: New 2026 Legislation’s Effect on Communities Zoom
- March 18: Safer Community Places: City and County Policy Changes Zoom
In-Person/Hybrid Events:
- Feb. 25, 1–4 p.m.: Native American community event at the Gateway Center (In-person and online; co-led by ACLU and Navajo Commission on Human Rights)
- March 5: De-escalation training at Albuquerque Community Safety
- March 5: De-escalation training at Albuquerque Community Safety headquarters, 9800 Fourth St. NW, email acs@cabq.gov to join.
Past Sessions: Recordings available at cabq.gov/oira-resources
