Otero County ICE Contract Renewal Deemed Invalid: NM Attorney General Cites Planning Failure, Not True Emergency - AG Letter Released

Alamogordo, New Mexico – March 21, 2026 -AlamogordoTownNews.org reached to Amy Bareala and RB Nichols on Friday requesting comment on the AG press release and letter. RB Nichols said he needed some time to review and formulate a response.  His response is below followed by the AG letter....

 We asked for a copy of the formal letter but as of this morning the county has not delivered it. We secured the letter from other sources...

The New Mexico Department of Justice (NMDOJ) has ruled that the Otero County Commission’s March 13 emergency meeting, where commissioners voted to renew a controversial contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for detainee services at the Otero County Processing Center, violated the state’s Open Meetings Act (OMA). The decision invalidates the contract extension, declaring it the result of a “planning failure” rather than a genuine unforeseen emergency.

In a strongly worded letter dated March 20, 2026, from Blaine N. Moffatt, Director of the NMDOJ’s Government Counsel and Accountability Bureau, the department concluded that the county improperly invoked emergency procedures to bypass standard public notice requirements. The OMA allows emergency meetings only for “unforeseen circumstances” that, if not addressed immediately, would likely cause injury or damage to persons or property, or substantial financial harm to the public body. The NMDOJ determined that the contract’s expiration on March 13 was fully foreseeable, as it had been set years in advance, giving the county ample time to schedule a regular or specially noticed meeting.

“The approaching deadline was neither unexpected nor emergent under the OMA,” the letter states. “A known contractual end date does not meet the definition of an ‘unforeseen circumstance.’” The county cited the impending expiration as falling on the “unforeseen business day” of its term and warned of potential bond obligations coming due, which could jeopardize finances tied to the facility’s revenue from ICE payments.

However, the NMDOJ emphasized that these issues stemmed from internal planning oversights, not sudden external events. The bond payment schedule, contract terms, and expiration date were all well-known to the county long before March 13. “The County created a time-sensitive situation of its own making,” the letter notes. “The looming bond obligations were therefore a consequence of planning failure, not an external or sudden event.”

The meeting, which lasted about 12 minutes and was announced with only hours of notice, resulted in a unanimous vote to approve a five-year extension of the Intergovernmental Service Agreement (IGSA) with ICE. This allows continued detention services at the Chaparral facility, generating millions in annual revenue for the county. The NMDOJ reviewed materials from complainants, watched the meeting recording, and concluded no immediate threat to public health, safety, property, or critical operations existed to justify the emergency classification.

“The Open Meetings Act does not permit a public body to convert a foreseeable administrative or financial deadline into an ‘unforeseen circumstance,’” the letter explains. Treating such predictable consequences as emergencies would undermine the OMA’s core purpose of ensuring public business is conducted openly and transparently.

The NMDOJ, under Attorney General Raúl Torrez, has demanded that the Otero County Commission provide an explanation and steps to achieve compliance no later than 5:00 PM MDT on Monday, March 23, 2026. Responses should be emailed to oma-ipracomplaint@nmdoj.gov with a specific subject line referencing the letter.

The ruling follows earlier concerns raised by state Rep. Sarah Silva (D-Las Cruces), who requested an investigation into the meeting and potential conflicts with the recently enacted Immigrant Safety Act (HB 9), which restricts such contracts but takes effect in May. County officials have maintained the action was necessary to avoid financial default on bonds used to build the facility.

This development puts the renewed ICE contract in legal limbo and highlights ongoing tensions over transparency in local government decisions involving federal immigration enforcement. The NMDOJ stressed that the OMA is “not optional” and exists to ensure deliberations are open to the public.

More News from Alamogordo

• Holloman AFB Shooting: Ashanti Stewart Identified as Civilian Who Shot Active-Duty Service Member Before Taking Own Life Authorities release name of shooter at Holloman
• Litigation Coming, Otero County Violated Open Meetings Act in Rushed ICE Contract Extension, NM Attorney General Rules Let the litigation begin…