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committees of the NM Legislature. The LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports
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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Martinez
DATE TYPED 2/10/05
HB
SHORT TITLE Local Enforcement of Federal Immigration Laws
SB 103/aSJC/aSF1
ANALYST Ford
APPROPRIATION
Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY05
FY06
FY05
FY06
Indeterminate
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Department of Public Safety (DPS)
No Response Received
Attorney General (AG)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of SF1 Amendment
Senate Floor amendment number 1 provides that a law enforcement agency of the state of a po-
litical subdivision shall use state or federal resources to detect or apprehend persons whose only
violation of law is that they are persons of foreign citizenship who have entered or are residing in
the United States in violation of federal immigration laws in Title 8 of the United States Code if
it is legally required to do so.
Synopsis of SJC Amendment
The Senate Judiciary Committee Amendment removes the reference to investigating or enforcing
any violation of federal immigration laws in Title 8 of the United States Code.
Synopsis of Original Bill
Senate Bill 103 would prohibit any state or local law enforcement agency from utilizing state
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Senate Bill 103/aSJC/aSF1 -- Page 2
resources, or accepting or utilizing federal resources, for enforcement of federal immigration
laws.
Significant Issues
Specifically, this bill prohibits state or local enforcement agencies from using resources to detect
or apprehend persons whose only violation of law is that they are persons of foreign citizenship
who have entered or are residing in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws, or
investigating or enforcing federal immigration laws.
For purposes of this bill, the Labor Department is not considered a law enforcement agency.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
DPS indicates that there would be no fiscal impact because it does not take enforcement action
based solely on a person’s immigration status.
TECHNICAL ISSUES
DPS writes that… “[t]he Law Enforcement Assistance Act of 1965, Public Law 89-197, (Not 98-
197 as stated in the current State Statute) was the mechanism for the Federal Government to pro-
vide grant funding of all types, to state and local authorities. That law has since been repealed
and replaced with Title 42 USCS, Chapter 46, Justice System Improvement, Public Law 90-351.
“In essence, the current State Statute 29-1-10 NMSA 1978 is obsolete. Amending the obsolete
statute, as proposed in this bill, would not serve the purpose intended.
“State Statute 29-1-10 should be updated, using the current Federal Statutes, in order to ensure a
mechanism is in place for state and local governments to receive Federal Grant Funding.”
DPS also indicates that, if the bill is amended to reflect the proper federal statutes, it would be
necessary to construct the language so that only funding tied to the enforcement of immigration
laws is restricted. Otherwise, other federal grant funding projects could be negatively impacted.
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
DPS notes concerns that this bill could hamper law enforcement officers’ efforts to combat ter-
rorist threats when they are investigating suspicious activity. DPS notes additional concerns that
the bill could interfere with law enforcement’s efforts to combat illegal human smuggling.
POSSIBLE QUESTIONS
Is the proper statute cited in the bill.
Would passage of this bill jeopardize unrelated federal funding.
EF/yr