Juan and his daughter, who turned one while he was in detention.
Photo courtesy of Juan's family
Juan, a young father, has spent over 150 days in immigration detention. He came to the United States at age 12 and has lived in Albuquerque with his family ever since. He's spent the last four years working as a refrigerator repairman and is an active member in his church and soccer club. He had accepted responsibility for a mistake he made and was fully complying with his probation requirements for a misdemeanor offense he had received earlier this year when he was handed over to ICE. Juan is engaged to a U.S. citizen, and together they have a child who turned one while Juan was detained. He has now spent five months separated from his family and is missing holidays, birthdays, and other precious milestones he will never get back.
On July 10, Juan arrived for what should have been a routine probation appointment. Instead, probation officers illegally coordinated with ICE by handing over his personal information in clear violation of New Mexico’s non-cooperation laws.
Laws on paper mean little if ignored in practice.
Juan’s detention did not happen because of a new crime or failure to comply with the law. In fact, he was doing exactly what he was supposed to do.
Earlier this year, advocates and lawmakers worked together to pass the Nondisclosure of Sensitive Personal Information Act, a law that was designed specifically to prevent ICE arrests like Juan's. The law took effect on July 1 and prohibits New Mexico government agencies, like parole offices, from sharing personal information with ICE.
In September, it came to light in local reporting that New Mexico probation officers illegally coordinated with ICE, violating the very protections meant to keep families safe. Now, five months later, Juan remains in detention, his story a stark warning of what’s at risk when those safeguards are ignored.
State law is clear: local officials are prohibited from working with ICE to round up and detain community members.
In October, attorneys filed a habeas petition in federal court challenging Juan’s unlawful detention. The case was fully briefed before Thanksgiving. Despite the urgency, the federal judge has not yet ruled, and his proceedings in immigration court have continued, leaving Juan and his family in despair.
Last week, Juan faced his final removal hearing—now he has a mere 30 days to appeal his removal order.
What’s happening to Juan is not theory or rhetoric—it is a family’s future held hostage by the failures of those sworn to protect them. New Mexico’s non-cooperation laws were written in the language of hope, a promise that no local official would ever again be complicit in tearing families apart. But laws on paper mean little if ignored in practice.
Juan’s detention is not just a story—it’s a warning.
The stakes are measured in birthdays missed, lullabies unsung, and futures rewritten.
We can never allow what has happened to Juan and his young family to happen to any New Mexican family. State laws meant to safeguard our families are not suggestions: they are our rights, and we should be able to expect state officials to follow the law.
