Two signs that read "We build this country together" and "our families have no borders"

A New Phase in Civil Liberties Advocacy: Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going

For decades, the ACLU of New Mexico has worked alongside communities to defend civil liberties and expand the promise of the constitution. Today, with fundamental freedoms under intensifying attack and the stakes for our democracy higher than ever, that work has never been more urgent.

Latest Press Release


CoreCivic Pays Settlement to Estate of 23-Year-Old Asylum Seeker Who Died in Torrance County Detention Facility

The case addressed the TCDF’s systemic failures in its mental health care and CoreCivic’s extreme negligence, which resulted in Kesley Vial’s tragic and preventable death.
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Stay informed on civil rights issues. Discover our latest actions and updates in the Press Release section.

A house with ristras hanging on the porch in New Mexico.

The 2026 Legislative Session: Creating A Firewall for Freedom in New Mexico

As we approach the 2026 legislative session, our nation is facing unprecedented threats to our fundamental freedoms. But we aren’t powerless against these attacks.

Albuquerque Journal Gets It Wrong: SB 196 Would Create Clarity, Not Chaos With Law Enforcement

Why creating a bright line between local police and federal immigration agents, would be a boon for law and order — not a cause for chaos.

By Peter Simonson

ICE

Living in Limbo: A dispatch from the frontlines of our fight against indefinite detention

“Every day you get tired from thinking, ‘Am I going to be released after one month, two months, three months?’ But every day it’s ‘tomorrow’ and it’s never finished.”

By Katie Hoeppner

Otero County Processing Center

The Future We Believe In

A bold plan to transform the landscape of freedom in the post-Martinez era

By Peter Simonson

Women holding a sign that says "Women Resist"

Cruelty Without Boundary: Inside the Family Separation Crisis

"The agents didn’t say anything about where they were going to take my son,” said Samuel*, from behind a glass partition. “They just took him away. And then they told me I was going to jail. I’ve never been to jail. This has never happened before.”

By Kristin Greer Love

Young child grabbing his parent's leg, crying

From the Desk of Executive Director Peter Simonson

The path to making America great again is not paved with cruelty, arrogance, and selfishness. It is lit by the same values that draw immigrants to our shores: freedom, fairness, and justice.

By Peter Simonson

Photo of Peter Simonson

Jail Over Justice

Fourteen months ago Manuel Pérez* lay on the ground unconscious in the sloping mountains of Sierra de los Cuchamatanes, Guatemala. His skull was fractured. His teeth were broken. And his brain was hemorrhaging blood.

By Katie Hoeppner

Cibola Detention Center

Senators Udall and Heinrich Step up for Borderlands

Just when Southwest border communities most needed a few champions in their corner, NM Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich stepped forward and answered the call. This week they rejected two immigration proposals in Congress that would have squandered $25 billion to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Our senators understand that Dreamers’ lives cannot be ransomed in a cynical tradeoff for President Trump’s wasteful, damaging wall. We need a permanent solution for immigrant youth that does not sacrifice the interests of border communities.

By Peter Simonson

Photo of Peter Simonson

Lives in the Balance

Trump’s Deportation Machine Sets Its Sights on New Mexico

By Katie Hoeppner

Immigration and Customs Enforcement suiting up

Breaking – Federal judge issues preliminary injunction halting deportation of Iraqis facing persecution

Today, we celebrate an extraordinary victory.

By Katie Hoeppner

Abbas with his wife Brenda