The Daily Fuckup

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit on May 8, 2026, against New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Attorney General Raul Torrez, the city of Albuquerque, and Mayor Timothy Keller. The complaint targets House Bill 9, the Immigrant Safety Act, and Albuquerque Ordinance O-26-15, which the city identifies as the Safety and Privacy in Community Spaces Ordinance and the Justice Department labels the Safer Community Places Ordinance, or SCPO. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-lawsuit-against-state-new-mexico-and-city-albuquerque-obstructing))

In the filing, the department says both measures unlawfully interfere with federal immigration enforcement. It alleges that the state law and the city ordinance block federal agents from using local government property to carry out immigration-related work. It also argues that the Albuquerque ordinance requires private businesses to warn people about immigration enforcement activity, which the department says amounts to shielding people from federal detection. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-lawsuit-against-state-new-mexico-and-city-albuquerque-obstructing))

The department asked the court to declare the laws invalid and to issue a preliminary injunction stopping enforcement. It filed the case in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico as United States v. State of New Mexico et al., No. 1:26-cv-01471. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-lawsuit-against-state-new-mexico-and-city-albuquerque-obstructing))

The lawsuit is part of the administration’s broader push against state and local immigration limits. In its press release, the Justice Department said it had already identified sanctuary jurisdictions and vowed to bring litigation to end those policies nationwide. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-lawsuit-against-state-new-mexico-and-city-albuquerque-obstructing))