House Bill 9 was not an abstract policy debate for Cibola County. It was, and remains, a direct threat to the economic stability of our families, our workforce, and our small rural communities.
Cibola County formally opposed HB 9 because the bill eliminates the ability of the Cibola County Correctional Center to continue housing ICE detainees — detainees who account for roughly two-fifths of the facility’s population. Without that population, the facility becomes financially unviable.
The result is not theoretical. It is measurable, immediate, and devastating.
If ICE detainees are removed, approximately 200 direct jobs are expected to be lost, out of a workforce of roughly 234 positions. These are not faceless numbers. They are people who live throughout Cibola County’s towns, villages, and tribal communities.
Employee residence data shows that at least 123 employees live in Cibola County, with the largest concentrations in Grants and Milan, but also spread across Acoma, Bluewater, Cubero, Prewitt, Thoreau, Ramah, San Fidel, San Rafael, Seboyeta, Quemado, Pinehill, and New Laguna, as well as Zuni residents who live and work across county lines. Grants alone accounts for more than 60 employees, with Milan home to another dozen or more families. Thoreau represents two dozen employees, while Prewitt, Cubero, Acoma, and surrounding rural communities each include multiple households dependent on these jobs.
An additional 30 employees live in neighboring McKinley County, including Gallup, Crownpoint, Fort Wingate, Church Rock, and Continental Divide, with others commuting from Bernalillo, Doña Ana, and other counties. In total, 172 New Mexico residents depend on this facility for their livelihoods, with another 27 employees commuting from out of state.
These employees’ paychecks do not disappear into a corporate ledger. They pay rent and mortgages, buy groceries, fuel their vehicles, pay utility bills, support childcare providers, and access local healthcare. When those wages vanish, the ripple effects are felt in every corner of the county — from landlords and small retailers to schools and medical providers.
The annual payroll at risk exceeds $18.5 million, and more than $22.6 million in direct economic activity would be removed from the regional economy each year. With conservative economic multipliers applied, the total annual loss to Cibola County and surrounding communities is estimated between $29.6 million and $33.3
million annually.
In a rural county with limited alternative employment opportunities, this scale of loss is not easily absorbed. High-wage jobs are scarce. When they disappear, families face missed rent or mortgage payments, utility shutoffs, reduced access to healthcare, and forced relocation. Small businesses — already operating on thin margins — face layoffs or closure.
This is why Cibola County opposed HB 9.
It is also why we are grateful for legislators who took the time to listen to our community and speak up on its behalf. Senator George Muñoz, Representative Patricia Lundstrom, and Representative Martha Garcia raised concerns about the realworld impacts HB 9 would have on Cibola County — particularly the loss of jobs, the erosion of local tax base, and the destabilization of rural communities that already struggle to attract and retain employment. Their advocacy reflected a genuine care for Cibola County and an understanding that policy decisions made in Santa Fe do not land evenly across New Mexico. That kind of representation matters.
By contrast, many residents were troubled that Representative Abeyta and Senator Angel Charley — who were elected by voters in Cibola County — did not oppose the bill, even as its consequences were openly acknowledged.
Senator Angel Charley’s vote in favor of HB 9 leaves many in Cibola County questioning whether the economic realities of our district were given sufficient consideration. While the bill may align with broader ideological priorities at the state level, its consequences fall disproportionately on rural communities like ours. When nearly 200 families face job loss and tens of millions of dollars are at risk of being removed from the regional economy, the responsibility to defend local livelihoods should outweigh political alignment.
During the House Judiciary Committee hearing, Representative Abeyta explained that the amendment to HB 9 was designed to prevent counties from maintaining detention agreements through alternative means, stating: “We’re gonna add the word ‘extend’ to make sure that [counties] can’t do any technical workarounds to enter into new detention agreements.”
That statement confirms that the bill was intentionally structured to foreclose options for facilities like Cibola County’s — despite clear warnings about job losses and economic harm to the very communities most affected.
Representative Abeyta has suggested that Workforce Solutions will assist displaced employees in finding other employment. While workforce support services are valuable resources, simply directing nearly 200 affected workers to job listings does not replace the loss of stable, full-time positions that sustain families. In a rural county with limited comparable employment opportunities, referral services alone are not an economic solution to the scale of disruption HB 9 creates.
Yet during House Floor proceedings, there is no record of Representative Abeyta raising concerns about the loss of jobs, payroll, or economic damage to Cibola County, nor offering opposition on behalf of the constituents who would bear the brunt of the bill.
Opposing HB 9 was never about defending a corporation or debating federal immigration policy. It was about defending Cibola County families, local jobs, and the economic backbone of Grants, Milan, and our surrounding rural and tribal communities.
Too often, policy decisions are shaped by the realities of Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and communities along the Rio Grande, while rural counties are treated as an afterthought. New Mexico is more than its urban centers. It is made up of small towns, tribal communities, and rural counties like Cibola, where the margin for economic loss is thin and the consequences of legislation are felt immediately and personally. When statewide votes ignore these differences, it is rural communities that bear the greatest burden.
Legislation has consequences. When those consequences are known, documented, and openly discussed, elected officials have a responsibility to weigh ideology against impact.
Cibola County did exactly that.
HB 9 places hundreds of families at risk, removes tens of millions of dollars from a fragile rural economy, and undermines the stability of communities that can least afford it. Our opposition was rooted in facts, fiscal responsibility, and a duty to protect the residents we serve.
We thank Senator Muñoz, Representative Lundstrom, and Representative Garcia for standing with Cibola County and for demonstrating what it means to truly represent the people who sent them to the Roundhouse.
The people of Cibola County deserve nothing less.
Respectfully, Ralph Lucero Chairman, Cibola County Commission