The Impact of Federal Policy Changes on New Mexico’s Immigrant Communities

From the construction of New Mexico’s railroads to the modern day agricultural, oil, and gas industries, immigrants have long contributed to the social, economic, and cultural fabric of our state., Recent federal policy changes enacted by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) have radically transformed the U.S. immigration system, threatening the safety of New Mexico’s immigrant families, children, and workers.

Changes to Immigration-Related Fees

The OBBBA introduced new fees for humanitarian immigration relief that Congress provided for noncitizen survivors of serious crimes, violence, persecution, and abandonment. It also sharply increased costs for existing applications, making access to lawful status economically unattainable for many immigrants. For years, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and immigration courts have imposed high fees that limit access to “lawfully present” status, disproportionately impacting children and families who have experienced great trauma, violence, and displacement. The new and increased fees will only further economically burden immigrant communities in New Mexico.

Table 1: New Immigration Application Fees and Penalties³ 

The OBBBA imposes new fees for humanitarian relief, creating additional barriers for people fleeing violence or persecution. To claim asylum in the U.S., asylum seekers must be physically present in the country or at a port of entry.⁴ In the absence of viable alternatives, asylum seekers may be forced to cross the border without inspection, and, under the OBBBA, incur a substantial border-crossing penalty. Asylum seekers already arrive with limited resources, and face delays of over six years when applying for asylum through United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and over four years when applying in immigration court.⁵ Under the OBBBA, asylum seekers and their families in New Mexico will likely face $400-$600 or more in fees while they wait for their asylum cases to be reviewed.

All fees listed are minimums, but may be increased at discretion of DHS or immigration judges.
*Humanitarian protection for children abused or neglected by one or both parents.
**In addition to existing criminal penalties and fees.

Table 2: Increases to Pre-Existing Fees and Penalties⁶

The OBBBA also significantly increases pre-existing fees associated with other immigration applications, such as Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR) applications. In particular, the changes to work authorization applications will have a significant economic impact on immigrant families in New Mexico. A work authorization allows U.S. immigrants to participate in the workforce and contribute economically to their communities without fear of being targeted by immigration enforcement. These fee increases disproportionately impact New Mexico families with already limited resources, further straining access to employment opportunities and economic stability.

All fees listed are minimums, but may be increased at discretion of DHS or immigration judges.
*Renewals valid for one year
**Temporary permission to enter the US usually on humanitarian grounds
***Temporary Protected Status is a temporary immigration status provided to nationals of certain countries experiencing problems that make it difficult or unsafe for their nationals to be deported there.⁷

Table 3: Increases to Immigration Court Processing Fees⁸

The outcome of immigration hearings often hinges on the priorities of the Administration in power and the presiding judge’s interpretation of the law, rather than on the merits of each case.⁹ The OBBBA increased the fees to appeal decisions, reopened cases, and canceled removal proceedings, making accessing justice more complicated and costly.

All fees listed are minimums, but may be increased at discretion of DHS or immigration judges.
*An exception to this fee can be provided if the motion is based on improper notice.

Immigration Enforcement, Criminalization, and Detention Spending Provisions

The OBBBA provides federal agencies with an additional $170 billion in funding for immigration enforcement, detention, and deportation. This increase is larger than some countries’ entire military force.¹⁰ As a border state, New Mexicans will feel the effects of the OBBBA not only through internal immigration enforcement, but also by the billions in direct funding and diverted military resources to border militarization.¹¹

Criminalization and Enforcement  

Historically, immigration violations have been considered civil violations rather than criminal, but recent federal policy has increasingly blurred this line. The OBBBA further criminalizes immigration by directing $3.3 billion to expand federal prosecutions for immigration-related offenses.¹² These policy changes come despite the fact that 73.6% of people in ICE detention have no criminal convictions, and many of those convicted were convicted of minor offenses such as traffic violations.¹³

The OBBBA funds an immigration system that both expands the criminalization of immigrants, and legitimizes aggressive enforcement tactics that will likely lead to an increase in arrests, detentions, human rights violations, and deportations without a day in court. The $29.9 billion the bill allocates for immigration enforcement and deportation is done through broad lump-sum appropriations with a list of allowable uses, which gives federal agencies significant flexibility in how that money is spent.¹⁴ It also encourages expanded state and local participation in immigration enforcement by funding programs such as 287(g), which deputizes local law enforcement to carry out federal immigration enforcement. Currently, Curry County is the only New Mexico county that participates in this arrangement.¹⁵ This funding is further supplemented by an additional $3.5 billion to the Department of Justice to reimburse state and local agencies that assist with immigration enforcement, detention, and criminal prosecutions.¹⁶

Detention  

The OBBBA drastically expands immigration detention by providing $45 billion to DHS, effectively quadrupling ICE’s annual budget. Much of this funding is likely to benefit privately-owned detention centers and contractors, such as those in Cibola, Torrance, and Otero County. New Mexico’s private detention centers have roughly 1,580 people detained daily¹⁷ with documented inhuman conditions and civil rights violations; violations that are likely to worsen due to the OBBBA’s massive funding increase.¹⁸

In addition to these funding increases, the OBBBA has additional provisions that directly impact New Mexico’s children and families, including: 

• Legitimizing prolonged and indefinite use of family detention.
• Codifying invasive physical exams of unaccompanied children at the border, increasing risk of state-sanctioned abuse.
• Enabling hyper-surveillance and data sharing that will deter immigrant families from sponsoring unaccompanied children out of fear of detention and deportation.
• Encouraging coercion of unaccompanied children into accepting deportation without legal representation or hearing.¹⁹