House Memorial 51 requests the New Mexico economic development department and workforce solutions department to study potential employment opportunities for workers at detention centers in light of House Bill 9, which aims to prohibit public bodies from detaining individuals for federal civil immigration violations. The memorial highlights the potential job loss for employees at the three detention facilities in Cibola, Otero, and Torrance counties if their contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are terminated. It also emphasizes the need for economic diversification and the potential for repurposing these facilities to meet broader community needs, thereby fostering sustainable rural economic development.

Additionally, the memorial calls on the children, youth and families department, corrections department, and health care authority to explore alternative uses for the existing detention facilities, such as non-civil immigration detention or health care services. It further requests the economic development department to investigate how the state can support communities impacted by the prohibition of civil immigration detention through various state programs. The findings and recommendations from these studies are to be submitted to the appropriate interim legislative committees by October 1, 2026.