Latest news with #NewMexicans'
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
NM group condemns federal raid on Lovington dairy farm
Homeland Security Investigations announced it had arrested 11 people at a Lovington, N.M., dairy farm on June 4. The agency released this image of the arrests. (Photo courtesy HSI) The federal immigration raid at a dairy farm in Eastern New Mexico last week tore families apart, damaged trust and 'undermined our shared values of compassion and justice,' according to Somos Un Pueblo Unido, a statewide immigrant advocacy organization. According to a social media post from Homeland Security Investigations in El Paso, the agency executed a search warrant at the Outlook Dairy Farms in Lovington on June 4, arresting 11 people accused of misuse of visas, permits or other documents. The owner of the dairy farm told the Albuquerque Journal that the people arrested provided him false paperwork and that, following an audit before the raid, he'd been required to fire 24 other workers at the farm. ICE offers Albuquerque immigrant reprieve — for now In a statement Monday morning, María Romano, coordinator of the Lea County office of Somos Un Pueblo Unido, said that the raid undermines New Mexico's economy, which relies heavily on immigrant workers who are 'powering industries from dairy farms to oil and gas.' 'The individuals targeted in this raid are our neighbors, coworkers and friends, many of whom have lived here peacefully for years, contributing to our economy and enriching our culture,' Romano said. 'These enforcement actions do not make us safer.' The organization called on local and state leaders to demand transparency from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and to protect New Mexicans' rights regardless of immigration status. 'This recent raid reminds us that our communities must be aware of their rights. We must continue to empower ourselves to defend our dignity and demand justice for all New Mexicans.' The group shared a website it created explaining people's rights, regardless of immigration status, with information for victims of wage theft, along with dealing with ICE, Border Patrol and police at border checkpoints and elsewhere.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Report: NM 2024 election well-run, but overwhelmed by same-day registration
Voters fill out their ballots at the Doña Ana Community College East Mesa Campus in Las Cruces on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024. (Photo by Leah Romero / Source NM) Observe New Mexico Elections on Thursday released a report on its findings from the state's 2024 election that mostly gave high marks after observing operations at a majority of voting sites during early voting and on election day. Specifically, the nonprofit election transparency group dispatched 50 watchers to 91 sites in 24 counties during early voting, and had 160 election site watchers in 29 of New Mexico's 33 counties on election day. 'This important, nonpartisan information-gathering effort — led by and for New Mexicans — found that elections went well, votes were counted, and problems were limited,' ONME co-leader Carmen Lopez said in a statement. 'We are pleased to see that the findings reflect sufficient staffing levels, poll timeliness, proper functioning of tabulators and voter privacy. All of these things in conjunction made it possible to ensure every vote was counted and New Mexicans' voices were heard this election cycle. The findings of our report — showing both successes and room for improvement — will allow us to make the voting process and poll worker training even stronger and more transparent in the years to come.' Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver told Source New Mexico she had not seen the report yet, but had heard about its findings. 'That's what we always shoot for,' she said when Source conveyed the report's overall positive findings. 'So, that's good.' The report did identify a handful of issues, such as same-day registration overwhelming the system, as Source reported last year. The ONME report recommends 'the state ensures robust stress-testing of the bandwidth available to accommodate processing of same-day voter registrations and works closely with county clerks to increase the levels of staffing necessary to process same-day registrations in a timely manner.' Toulouse Oliver said the state suffered server problems during the morning of the Nov. 5, 2025 general election, followed by a large volume of people participating in same-day registration. According to data provided at the time, 52,705 people used same-day voter registration in last year's general election — and approximately half of them did so on election day. County clerks had already fallen behind due to the server issues, Toulouse Oliver said, and the volume of people registering to vote overwhelmed them. 'I'm not criticizing the clerks at all,' she added. 'This is not their fault, but they did not have enough staff to process the amount of registrations that came in through the day and with the backup and everything it did get bogged down.' For the next election, she said, the state will need to ensure the servers are robust enough and clerks will need to have adequate staffing, in so far as the budget allows. That being said, she does not anticipate a repeat of the same-day registration overwhelm from last year's Election Day. 'I really feel like 2024 was an anomaly when it comes to same day registration,' she said, compared with years past. Moreover, starting this summer, the state will have automatic voter registration through the Motor Vehicle Division. 'So I really feel like between just that election being an anomaly and AVR, and now that we know we need more resources on [same day registration], moving forward, just in case, I think it's going to be much better.' The ONME report also identified confusion by some presiding judges at polling places over the use of provisional ballots, which also were used in higher numbers last year, as well as seven locations that lacked sufficient provisional ballots. Toulouse Oliver said she had not heard previously of any locations running out of provisional ballots. She said given the challenges clerks were facing with same-day registration, her office was repeatedly advising the use of provisional ballots. 'That's what they are there for,' she noted. Legislation that would have provided additional training on issues like provisional ballots did not pass the Legislature, Toulouse Oliver said, but nonetheless, her office plans to keep reinforcing 'the provisional process as the option for… if SDR is not working.' ONME also recommended the state and county clerks, during early voting and on election day, use trained translators who are familiar with elections terminology after 'watchers were unable to validate that written and oral translation services into Native languages were provided in all areas of the state covered as minority language jurisdictions under Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act.' Toulouse Oliver told Source NM she thinks 'we do a really good job of that in our Native communities, because that's who we hire is people who can speak and interpret.' She said her interpretation of Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act is that clerks need to have people available, but not necessarily physically present, to provide other translation services as needed. 'And I have been under the assumption that every county that falls under that section is doing that, and apparently that's not the case. Apparently we need to do a better job of that,' she said. Toulouse Oliver said while her office already works with academic institutions, including the University of New Mexico, for analyses of elections, she's happy to receive the additional outside observations. 'They make some really good points,' she said. 'And…from our perspective of trying to make the argument to the Legislature,'we need this or we need that,' it's not just coming from me. It's coming from other sources.'
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Documents: New Mexico spent $3.6 million on anti-littering campaign
With New Mexicans' penchant for littering on roadways and other public places, breaking the bad habit is no easy feat. Whether it's a cigarette butt or a fast food wrapper, litter is an ongoing — and ugly — problem across the state. But the administration of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says it is seeing "encouraging engagement metrics" as a result of what has grown into a $3.6 million anti-littering campaign featuring Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston, whose portrayal of chemistry teacher-turned-drug-kingpin Walter White earned him accolades and a loyal fan base in New Mexico, where the award-winning TV series was set. MLG and Cranston (copy) Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Bryan Cranston discuss a new anti-littering campaign starring the Breaking Bad actor at the governor's mansion in October. Dubbed "Breaking Bad Habits," the campaign is part of a larger effort by the governor to clean up what is arguably one of the most scenic states in the Southwest. Lujan Grisham, who picks up trash from public places even when no one is looking, has made beautifying New Mexico one of her priorities in her second and final term in office. "New Mexico is beautiful, and on our watch, we're going to make sure that it stays that way," Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, said when she unveiled the campaign during a screening at Santa Fe's Jean Cocteau Cinema in October. More than $2.4 million in media buys, from bus wraps and billboards to commercials on TV and various social media platforms, accounts for the bulk of the highly visible campaign. The campaign started with a total budget of $3 million, but an additional $640,000 was spent on more media buys. Invoices and other documents obtained under a public records request show a $20,000 contract "furnishing the services of Bryan Cranston." During a meet-and-greet with Cranston at the governor's mansion, also in October, Cranston said he volunteered to appear in the campaign but explained "must be paid through [his] union' whenever he's on camera. At the time, Cranston said he had donated the money to two "New Mexico-centric charities." The documents show Somos Unidos Foundation, a soccer and health-focused charity affiliated with the New Mexico United soccer team, and Albuquerque's Roadrunner Food Bank each received $10,000 in Cranston's honor. Breaking Bad Habits 3 (copy) A screenshot from "Breaking Bad Habits," a state anti-littering ad campaign featuring Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston in his old Walter White character. Jodi McGinnis Porter, a spokesperson for the governor, said the anti-littering message is resonating. "The Breaking Bad Habits campaign shows encouraging engagement metrics with over 100 cleanup events submitted to [the campaign's] online calendar in 2025," she said in a statement. "April alone saw 17 events resulting in 8,002 bags of trash collected by 429 volunteers across 1,212 volunteer hours, demonstrating positive momentum through widespread participation in cleanup efforts statewide." Cody Johnson, a spokesperson for the New Mexico Tourism Department, agreed the state has seen encouraging engagement with the campaign related directly to litter cleanup efforts. He expects to see more cleanup activity in warmer months. "A big part of this campaign is to inspire New Mexicans to feel a stronger sense of pride of place and change behavior so people would stop littering," Johnson wrote in an email. "This campaign launched in October so while it may take some time to see how that behavior changes for the better, we're hopeful that New Mexicans will be reminded of their role in helping us eliminate litter and we will see that change through action." Johnson echoed seeing "encouraging engagement" so far. "Cleanup events have been hosted in communities such as Deming, Pecos, Rio Rancho, Carlsbad, Silver City, Española, Las Vegas, Santa Fe, Hobbs, Albuquerque, Roswell, Cerillos, Clovis, Raton, Taos, Bernalillo, Farmington, Questa and more," he wrote. "People are certainly taking notice of the campaign," Johnson added. "Just social media boosted posts of cleanup events have generated nearly 600,000 impressions and over 6,000 click-throughs to the Breaking Bad Habits website."
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New Mexico agency seeks input on services for aging population
The New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department wants to hear from seniors and their caregivers. The department is accepting comments through May 15 on a draft of the State Plan on Aging for Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2029, a proposal aligned with the federal government's fiscal year that bills itself as a "comprehensive roadmap to improve older New Mexicans' health and well-being." The plan comes at an important moment for aging in New Mexico, which by 2030 is projected to have the fourth highest percentage of people over 65 in the nation. By 2040, nearly a quarter of the state's population will be over 65, according to 2024 projections by the University of New Mexico's Department of Geospatial and Population Studies. The state is seeing a serious dearth of caregivers for older adults — both paid professionals who can handle tasks like medication management, and volunteer caregivers, who are often family members. The demographic shift will mean a lot more work for senior services providers — and the next three years will be a key time to prepare for and respond to the needs of a growing number of elderly residents, said Denise King, Aging Network operations division director at the Aging and Long-Term Services Department. "We want input from not only older adults but direct service providers that are contracted to provide many of these services," King said Monday in an interview. "We want their input on this plan so that we can be prepared — because our population is growing as we see across the country." One of the main priorities in the draft version of the department's State Plan on Aging: administering core programs to enable older New Mexicans to age in place — something most seniors want to do — through home- and community-based services. Many of these core programs, which the draft plan describes as the foundation of the Aging and Long-Term Services Department's work, help make aging in place a possibility, providing meals, transportation, in-home services, caregiver support, health promotion and disease prevention care that seniors need to live independently in their community. These programs are also funded largely through the federal Older Americans Act, legislation originally passed in 1965 to deliver social and nutrition services to people over 60. Though federal funding cuts under the Trump administration appear poised to jeopardize other services to seniors — including nutrition assistance programs like Meals on Wheels and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — lawmakers haven't taken aim at the Older Americans Act's core services yet, King said. "We know that the climate right now is concerning, and we also know that it seems to be changing every week. … We have yet to see anything that impacts largely the Older Americans Act services," she said. For now, then, those services can continue with business as usual — and are set to improve with the implementation of the statewide plan. The draft version of the plan includes a long list of changes to improve home- and community-based care, such as expanding local referral services, expanding food pantries and food distribution options, and developing opportunities for tribal providers to fund and administer core senior services. The plan also proposes training and support to caregivers and the workforce through its Office of Alzheimer's and Dementia Care — a change that could be particularly relevant to the many New Mexicans struggling to find quality and affordable memory care. Accomplishing that goal would require new partnerships with Alzheimer's and dementia support organizations, implementation of new training programs for family caregivers and establishment of a statewide data collection system, specific enough to identify county-level data on Alzheimer's diagnosis, mortality and stage at diagnosis. Finally, the plan recommends enhancements to mitigate abuse, neglect and exploitation of older adults, including creating a "Mobile Behavioral Health and Nurse Response Team" to assist seniors who cannot care for themselves. The change, which comes less than a year after four long-term care facilities failed surprise visits, would include an increase in funding for Adult Protective Services to monitor in-home care, like meal delivery, personal care and chore services, plus a 10% expansion in caseworker staffing, the plan states. "It's really looking at working with our stakeholders and our community members to really address the different needs," King said. "... Really, this is a broad plan to address those kinds of needs."
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Doña Ana County clerk to run for NM secretary of state
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Doña Ana County Clerk Amanda López Askin is making a bid for statewide office. López Askin launched her campaign for New Mexico's secretary of state job last week. Next year's election for secretary of state will not feature an incumbent. Current officeholder Maggie Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat, is term limited out and cannot seek a third term. López Askin said she was running to provide 'proven leadership' in the Secretary of State's Office 'to keep elections safe and help small businesses succeed.' López Askin is a Democrat who was appointed Doña Ana County clerk by Republican Gov. Susana Martinez in 2018. She was elected to full terms in 2020 and 2024. 'I am running for secretary of state because it's never been more important to protect New Mexicans' right to vote,' López Askin said. 'With our elections under assault across the country, it's important we have a secretary of state who's ready to stand up to election deniers and extremists.' López Askin, in her second term as county clerk for New Mexico's second-largest county, has a record of fighting for secure elections, her campaign said in its announcement press release. 'In 2020, when our elections were under attack, López Askin persevered, combating misinformation and pushing back on election deniers. She even partnered with law enforcement to keep election workers safe and voting running smoothly,' the announcement said. Her campaign also said that in her seven years as Doña Ana County clerk, López Askin 'has helped new businesses cut through government bureaucracy so business owners can focus on the work they are passionate about,' the press release said. 'In this time of economic uncertainty, we need to make sure that New Mexico's small businesses can compete and thrive,' López Askin said. 'As secretary of state, I will provide certainty and stability for New Mexico businesses.' Here is what the rest of her announcement said: 'López Askin is a proud public servant with deep roots in New Mexico. She was raised in Las Cruces by a proud, hard-working single mom who relied on support programs to provide a stable life for her children. With the support of her community, hard work and determination, López Askin became a family and mental health therapist and dedicated herself to helping kids in foster care. 'When the opportunity came to serve Dona Aña County as county clerk, she leapt at the chance to continue serving the community that has given her so much. As county clerk, López Askin worked with Democrats and Republicans to ensure the integrity of our elections. 'As secretary of state, Amanda will bring her lived and professional experience to serve all New Mexicans by making sure our elections remain safe, secure, and fair, providing transparency in campaign finance, and supporting New Mexico's businesses.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
