Driver Privacy and Safety Act (SB 40) Passed by the Senate

SANTA FE, NM – Today, the New Mexico Senate passed the Driver Privacy and Safety Act, Senate Bill 40, with a vote of 32-8, bringing the state closer to protecting New Mexicans’ location data from being weaponized for immigration enforcement, constitutionally protected activities, or to track people seeking legal healthcare. This legislation enacts the first statewide regulations on Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) data sharing in New Mexico, after years of work by healthcare, civil rights, and immigrant and workers’ rights organizations on the issue.

SB 40 is sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, Senators Cindy Nava, Heather Berghmans, and Micaelita Debbie O’Malley, and Representatives Christine Chandler, Marianna Anaya, and Cristina Parajón.

ALPRs are cameras mounted on patrol cars or along roads that capture every license plate that enters their field of view, recording the time, date, and GPS location. While ALPRs can have legitimate public safety uses, many law enforcement agencies in New Mexico share this data widely with no guardrails to prevent misuse.

A recent public records investigation by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico revealed thousands of instances in which out-of-state agencies accessed New Mexico cameras with searches with terms like “ICE,” “immigrant,” or “immigration.” Just last year, a sheriff’s office in Texas used ALPR data to track someone who had an abortion – and accessed New Mexico data in their search. A 2025 report published by Somos Un Pueblo Unido and Just Futures also highlighted the widespread use of license plate readers for immigration enforcement. National research has documented widespread use of ALPRs to track protesters across the political spectrum.

Under SB 40, ALPR users in New Mexico may not share data with out-of-state third parties unless they first receive an affirmation that the data will not be used to prosecute healthcare activity that is legal in New Mexico, enforce immigration laws, or target activity protected under the Constitution, including the First Amendment.

Law enforcement in New Mexico will continue to be able to use ALPRs and share data for all other purposes. State and local law enforcement agencies have expressed support for the bill in committee hearings, acknowledging the need for privacy guardrails.

The legislation now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.

Advocates across the state celebrated the Senate's passage and urged the House of Representatives to schedule the bill for consideration soon.

“New Mexicans deserve to drive to work, to school, and to the doctor without their movements being tracked and shared or sold to the highest bidder. This bill puts basic guardrails on a system that currently has none – and ensures outside authorities can’t access these surveillance tools to target our families and communities,” said Daniel Williams, policy advocate at the ACLU of New Mexico. “We urge the House to schedule this bill immediately and send it to the governor’s desk before the session ends.”

"Immigrant and working-class families shouldn't live in fear every time they get behind the wheel. If you live in or are traveling through New Mexico, your daily movements shouldn't be fodder for out-of-state enforcement agendas. This bill draws a clear line in the sand for the sharing of immigration and healthcare data," said Andres Esquivel, New Mexico Dream Team Campaigns Manager

“SB 40 ensures that New Mexicans can move freely, participate in public life, and access parks, public lands, and community spaces without fear of being tracked or targeted,” said Carolina Carrillo, statewide community organizer for The Semilla Project. “Protecting personal and community data is essential to equitable access, especially for immigrant and mixed-status families who deserve to feel safe traveling to work, school, cultural sites, and outdoor programs. When we safeguard privacy, we strengthen trust, dignity, and real community safety. The Semilla Project applauds the Senate for advancing SB 40 and urges continued action to ensure surveillance systems are not misused against New Mexico communities.”

“Individuals coming to New Mexico for healthcare should not be in fear that their privacy is at risk and location information shared and possibly weaponized. Patients seeking care deserve protection, and the Senate agreed,” said Kat Sanchez, policy director for Bold Futures. “We look forward to the House sharing those values and moving SB 40 through the process.”

“New Mexico has a long and proud tradition of protecting immigrant families and rejecting fear-based surveillance and disclosure of sensitive personal information such as immigration status,” said Marcela Díaz, executive director of Somos Un Pueblo Unido. “SB 40 closes a critical gap in New Mexico’s privacy laws that has put immigrant drivers directly in harm’s way. The Senate’s vote sends a clear message: New Mexico will not allow driver data to be used as a pipeline to immigration enforcement. This is how we keep families together and communities whole.”

"Our democracy is strongest when all New Mexicans can participate fully without fear of retribution," stated John Martinez, CVNM Political Director. "SB 40 ensures that the communities most frequently targeted by political or ideological violence, including immigrants and LGBTQ+, can exercise their First Amendment rights, advocate, and move through society without being tracked or surveilled. This is paramount to a safe and thriving community and healthy democracy."

“Equality New Mexico welcomes the passage of this legislation when it matters the most. Protecting the freedom to travel without excessive monitoring is vital for LGBTQ communities in this moment," said Marshall Martinez, chief liberation officer at Equality New Mexico (EQNM).

“SB40, the Driver Privacy and Safety Act, protects our communities and upholds our values as New Mexicans. This law ensures that technology used to keep us safe does not become a tool for surveillance or persecution, and that our families’ information is not shared outside the state or used against us. By setting clear and responsible limits, this measure strengthens trust between the community and law enforcement, protects people who go to work, take their children to school, or seek medical care, and ensures that public safety is built with dignity, privacy, and justice for all,” said Olga Santana, organizer with El CENTRO de Igualdad y Derechos.

“Our residents deserve to know their privacy is secure in New Mexico so they can travel to visit family, go to school, see the doctor, or any other thing that comes with a good quality of life. We applaud the Senate’s action and hope the House will take up the Driver Privacy Safety Act swiftly and send it to the governor,” said Sylvia Ulloa, NM Comunidades en Accion y de Fe (NM CAFe)

“In New Mexico, we value our communities and our ability to travel across the state while feeling safe to do so, especially when it comes to tracking our data. I applaud our Senate for its passage and we look forward to this moving and passing the House as the urgency of our safety remains pertinent," said Lan Sena, Chief Strategy Officer Center For Civic Policy.

"Immigrant families know that even a trip to the grocery store could put them on ICE's radar,” said Jessica Martinez, Director of Policy and Coalition Building, New Mexico Immigrant Law Center. “With the passage of SB 4, New Mexico is refusing to let its roads become a dragnet for federal immigration enforcement and constitutional violations. This bill sets the standard for balancing public safety with fundamental privacy rights and sends a clear message that New Mexico's infrastructure will not be a tool for mass deportation."