One of New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez’s first acts in office was to issue an executive order requiring the New Mexico Department of Public Safety to check immigration status during the discharge of its duties.
Oh, how the political pendulum swings!
Eight years ago, newly elected Gov. Bill Richardson directed NMDPS to not check immigration status. At the same time, Richardson championed a controversial law granting undocumented foreign nationals the privilege to obtain New Mexico driver’s licenses.
This move flew in the face of the George W. Bush administration’s desire to crack down on unlawful immigration. Indeed, this led to threats from the newly formed Transportation Security Administration to require New Mexicans to carry other forms of identification when flying.
At one time, there were up to 10 states with similar, immigrant-friendly laws. Today, there are three.
Every year since 2003, Sen. Richard C. Martinez (D-Rio Arriba & Santa Fe) has introduced bills prohibiting N.M. state, county and municipal law enforcement officers from using state resources to enforce federal immigration laws. It was the only immigrant-related bill I could recall, or find, from 2003-06.
Since 2006, immigration seems to have become a more popular issue at the N.M. Legislature, especially on the right. That was the year Sen. Rod Adair (R-Chaves & Lincoln) proposed a bill that would require law enforcement to check immigration status.
Neither bill has seen the governor’s desk, much less become law.
Two years ago, Richard J. Berry used “Albuquerque is a sanctuary city” as a wedge issue against incumbent Mayor Martin Chavez. As socially liberal as my old friend Mayor Marty might have been on certain issues, he never designated his hometown “sanctuary city” status.
What he did do was follow the local trend and prohibit APD from inquiring about residency status during routine stops. But, once in the system, corrections was required to check immigration status. Regardless, Berry won with the help of that decidedly anti-immigrant wedge.
During the Richardson administration, the immigration-related bills presented in the Legislature were few and far between — and decidedly pro-immigration. This year, there are six bills that affect immigrants. Two of them are pro-immigration, and the other four are anti-immigration.
On the pro-immigration side is the customary Sen. Richard Martinez bill (this year SB 152) that prohibits law enforcement at every level from using state resources to enforce federal immigration laws.
Sen. Eric Griego’s (D-South Valley) SB 419 is the Democratic answer to Martinez’s Jan. 31 executive order. It prohibits law enforcement at the state or any political subdivision of the state (possibly exempting APD) from enforcing “federal civil immigration law.”
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
This bill is doing well in the Senate, but is likely to stall in the House.
What Sen. Griego is reminding us of in the line “federal civil immigration law,” is that the federal law at issue is an administrative civil law, not a criminal law. The racially loaded slur “illegal immigrant” or “illegal” has little bearing on the legal status of the law broken.
As a matter of law, people crossing the border without the proper documents are no more “criminal” than someone illegally crossing Central Avenue from the UNM Bookstore to Satellite Coffee. The act isn’t even criminal, much less the ones performing it.
The hot-button issue in this year’s legislative session is driver’s licenses, passed under the Richardson administration.
There are two flavors of how to undo what was done by the 2003 legislature and Richardson.
HB 401, sponsored by Rep. David C. Chavez (R-Valencia), would give a temporary guest permit, not a driver’s license, to visiting foreign nationals. It doesn’t seem to be getting any traction.
Sen. John Ryan’s (R-Albuquerque) SB 518 and Rep. Andy Nuñez’s (I–Dona Ana) HB 78 are the real hot-button bills.
These bills would require everyone to show a Social Security card to get or renew a N.M. driver’s license. SB 518 also puts limitations on the duration of licenses for foreign nationals. After a long debate on the House floor, HB 78 was passed and is on its way to the Senate.
Rep. Nora Espinoza’s (R-Chavez, Lincoln & Otero) HB 562 is of real interest to the UNM community. If passed, it would require United State citizenship or legal resident status “to qualify for a legislative Lottery Scholarship.” Although getting little play in the media, this bill really flies in the face of DREAM Act supporters who dream of a day when all young people have higher-education opportunity.
This bill also doesn’t seem to be getting much traction at this time, so you don’t have to say goodbye to your immigrant friends — yet.
