By Jason McNabb

    ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (KOAT) -- New Mexico's State Ethics Commission has accused probation and parole officers of sharing sensitive information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, leading to multiple detentions and deportations.

A declaratory judgment suit alleges that employees of the state's probation and parole offices have been providing sensitive information, like immigration status, to ICE about probationers and parolees both before and after July 1, when the state's Non-Disclosure of Sensitive Personal Information Act went into effect.

"The Ethics Commission is saying we have this law in place that says the probation department can't disclose the whereabouts and the locations of the people who are on parole and probation. But that's exactly what they're doing, according to the Ethics Commission," said KOAT legal expert John Day.

Day explained that the Ethics Commission filed this action to ensure they have the grounds to move forward with an actual lawsuit.

"They're saying, Judge, we want you to interpret the laws, federal laws and state laws that show that we have permission to go ahead and do this. So it's not an actual action yet against the corrections department secretary, but it's sort of a shot. Across the bow, sort of a warning shot," he said.

According to the suit, these information disclosures directly led to three people on probation being either held in detention by ICE or deported. The declaratory judgment includes email evidence showing a probation officer communicating with an ICE agent, asking, "Hello, I got your info. Are you able to tell me anything on this guy?"

KOAT reached out to the New Mexico Office of Corrections about this suit, but they had no comment at this time. The state's Ethics Complaint Commission also declined to comment but issued a news release stating, "Seeking a declaratory order at this stage ensures that any future actions by the commission to enforce the Non-Disclosure of Sensitive Personal Information Act are fully compliant with both state and federal law."

"It's going to be an interesting situation to see whether a judge agrees. And if a judge agrees, how far down the road does the ethics commission get in challenging the governor's administration?" Day said.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.