New Mexico Supreme Court Bans Former Judge From Exercising Judicial Authority

Former Judge Joel Cano submitted his resignation earlier this month.

A judges gavel rests on top of a desk in the courtroom in Miami, Fla., on Feb. 3, 2009. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The New Mexico Supreme Court on Tuesday barred a former judge from exercising judicial authority in the state in the future amid reports and court papers stating that an alleged Tren de Aragua gang member was arrested living in a building behind his home on his property.

On Tuesday, the state Supreme Court ruled that the former Dona County Magistrate Judge Joel Cano, who submitted a letter of resignation last month, “shall never again hold, become a candidate for, run for, or stand for election to any New Mexico judicial office in the future.”

It also said that he can never serve or be appointed to a pro tempore position “for any New Mexico judicial office in the future,” which entails positions including municipal, probate, metropolitan, magistrate, district court, appeals court, or Supreme Court judgeships.

“Respondent shall never again hold or exercise any judicial authority in the State of New Mexico,” which also includes “officiating at weddings,” said the court order, which also vacated an oral hearing that was scheduled for Thursday.

Cano, a registered Democrat, had served in the Dona Ana County Magistrate Court in Las Cruces, the second-most populous city in the state and located 40 miles north of the U.S.–Mexico border. A resignation letter uploaded online, dated March 3, said that his last day on the bench was March 21.

“Working with each of you has been a very rewarding experience for which I will remain eternally grateful,” he wrote. “All the best to everyone of you. I wish all of you a happy retirement once you are ready yourself.”

Neither the letter of resignation nor the Supreme Court papers said why he was leaving his position or why he was barred from being a judge in the state.

Court papers filed by federal prosecutors earlier in April, which sought to block the release of Venezuelan illegal immigrant and accused Tren de Aragua member Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, included the names Joel and Nancy Cano and said the suspect was living in their Las Cruces home at the time of the arrest. However, the papers did not provide an age, occupation, or other details about the Canos.

Two email accounts that appear to be associated with Cano did not return a request for comment as of Thursday morning.

According to prosecutors, Ortega-Lopez and several others who were detained “were residing at an apartment in El Paso when he eventually met Nancy Cano after getting a job in Las Cruces to install a glass door for her.” Ortega-Lopez then “continued to do a few jobs for Nancy Cano, and after being evicted from the apartment in April, 2024, Nancy Cano offered her ‘casita’ in the back of the residence she shared with her husband Joel Cano,” the court papers added.

Federal agents arrested Ortega-Lopez on weapons charges after officials found weapons at the home during a raid, court papers say. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said in a statement earlier this year that Ortega-Lopez is also suspected of being affiliated with Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang that was declared a terrorist organization by the Trump administration in February.

Cano spoke to KOAT-TV on Thursday and said he did not know that Ortega-Lopez allegedly had ties to Tren de Aragua.  “Their papers stated in the upper right-hand corner, ‘This Person is Not Subject to Removal.’ They each had a specific court date regarding their asylum hearing,” Cano stated, referring to the suspect and others who were living on his property.

“I have three grandkids that I love dearly. Their ages are 15, 8 and 6. There is no way in the world that I would have allowed my grandkids to have any contact with the boys if I had sensed danger,” he also said.

A local U.S. magistrate judge in March appeared to confirm in a court hearing that the individual was arrested at Cano’s home, according to the Albuquerque Journal and Fox News. U.S. Magistrate Judge Damian Martinez made note of Ortega-Lopez’s having lived on the former judge’s property, saying, “I don’t think he would just let anybody live in his property.”

Martinez, who said he was acquainted with Cano, said during the March hearing, according to Fox News, that he doesn’t believe Ortega-Lopez is a flight risk and ordered him to be released, prompting the April filing from federal prosecutors to reconsider the order for his release.