Overview
- On Jan. 22, District Attorney Sam Bregman sent a formal letter to ICE Assistant Field Office Director Bill Shaw outlining potential criminal charges.
- The letter states that any ICE agent who detains, confines, or restrains a person in the county without a signed warrant, reasonable suspicion, or probable cause may be prosecuted.
- Bregman cites NMSA 1978, § 30-4-3, which defines false imprisonment as a felony and includes no exception for officers acting without lawful authority.
- In a CNN interview, Bregman said involuntary restraint without lawful authority constitutes false imprisonment and he pledged to prosecute offending agents.
- He also said his office will prosecute violent felonies regardless of immigration status and referenced recent videos of ICE actions that raised constitutional concerns.