The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the State of New Mexico and the City of Albuquerque on May 8, saying a recent state law and city ordinance infringe on federal immigration enforcement authorities.

“New Mexico is attempting to regulate immigration policy, something the federal government is clearly and uniquely empowered by the Constitution to do,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.

The lawsuit calls on a judge to grant a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the state law and city ordinance and seeks a judgment declaring both invalid.

On Feb. 5, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into state law a bill that prohibits partnerships between local governments and federal immigration authorities to assist in the detention and removal of non-U.S. citizens from the country. The state legislation is set to go into effect on May 20.

The federal lawsuit notes a 60-month contract renewed in March between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Otero County government to provide a detention facility. If the contract is terminated or hindered, the lawsuit asserts that, in addition to disrupting detention efforts, the Otero County government would stand to lose significant revenue and jobs associated with the operation of the Otero County Processing Center.

On March 23, Albuquerque Mayor Timothy Keller enacted an ordinance prohibiting city authorities from leasing city property if they suspect the property will be used for the furtherance of immigration enforcement activities. The ordinance further prohibits public and private entities from allowing access to their property or records by law enforcement agents engaged in or supporting immigration enforcement efforts.

The ordinance also sets a requirement for employers to notify all persons “performing work” at the business about potential immigration enforcement actions at the business within 24 hours of learning of any such pending immigration enforcement actions.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison for the District of New Mexico said the state law and city ordinance at issue “unlawfully interfere with federal immigration enforcement, illegally discriminate against federal operations, and violate constitutional protections regarding contracts and federal supremacy.”

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez—who is named as a defendant in the civil lawsuit alongside Grisham and Keller—vowed to defend the state law in federal court.

In a statement on May 8, Torrez said the state law arose in response to conditions at immigration detention facilities in the state, including poor medical care and conditions at the facilities, and deaths of individuals in their custody.

Jhon Javier Benavides-Quintana, an Ecuadoran national, died in ICE custody at the Otero County Processing Center.

“The Legislature made a considered judgment that New Mexico’s government, its employees, and its publicly funded facilities should not be instruments of a detention system that has caused serious and preventable harm to people held within our borders,” Torrez said. “That is precisely the kind of policy judgment that belongs to the states.”

He also said the state law does not prevent federal immigration authorities from carrying out their enforcement efforts.

“They may make arrests, conduct investigations, and carry out removals,” Torrez said. “What they may not do is compel New Mexico’s officers, employees, and institutions to administer federal enforcement priorities the state has chosen not to adopt.”