Latest news with #NewMexicoImmigrantLawCenter
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gov. Lujan Grisham talks immigration on Face The Nation
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham was on Face the Nation this morning, where she talked about the military taking over an area along the southern border. The governor denounced the way the Trump Administration is dealing with immigration, saying the lack of due process and clear constitutional violations should be concerning to more people. New Mexico Immigrant Law Center feeling impact of federal cuts to unaccompanied minors program But she's most upset about communities being unfairly targeted. 'My bigger issue is indiscriminate ICE raids and sweeps, sowing fear in communities and with businesses all across the country, and that includes many communities right here in New Mexico. I've done a border flyover. I'm paying attention, you know, it's disconcerting to see tanks rolling. Right along the border, acting and demonstrating these sorts of military powers in that way,' said Governor Lujan Grisham. The governor was also asked about funding cuts to Medicaid, and said they are doing everything in the state to make sure those funds are taken care of. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Self-deportation poses legal risks for immigrants who accept offer of cash, airfare
May 7—Immigrants who take up the Trump administration's offer of cash and free airfare for people who self-deport could make legal reentry to the U.S. lengthy and difficult, if not impossible, advocates warned this week. They recommended that immigrants speak with an attorney before taking up the government's inducement of $1,000 and airfare to their countries of origin. "Anyone who is finding themselves in a moment of uncertainty should always speak with a qualified immigration attorney," said Unai Montes-Irueste, a spokesman for People's Action Institute, a nonprofit advocacy group. But Montes-Ireste and others also said they anticipate that many immigrants facing President Donald Trump's harsh deportation crackdown may find the self-deportation offer tempting. The Trump administration offered the financial incentive on Monday and described self-deportation as a way for migrants to preserve their ability to legally return to the U.S. Sophia Genovese, an attorney for the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, warned that immigrants who self-deport could face high barriers to legal reentry to the U.S. "If people have an active case with the immigration court and they leave, that will result in an in absentia removal order," Genovese said. The order "is a deportation order that would be entered because they failed to appear at their next immigration court hearing," she said. A deportation order carries a 10-year bar of return to the U.S. "and it will create barriers for people seeking to return through some other lawful pathway," she said. The U.S. Department of Justice public affairs office did not respond this week to requests for comment sent to the agency's media inquiry site. Trump told reporters Monday that immigrants who self-deport and leave the U.S. might have a chance to return legally "if they're good people" and "love our country." Trump made immigration enforcement and mass deportation a centerpiece of his campaign but so far has struggled to fulfill his promise of deporting at least 1 million people in the first year of his current term. The Department of Homeland Security has repurposed a U.S. Border Patrol app, CBP Home, that allows immigrants to obtain the $1,000 stipend and a flight to their home countries. The app was created by the Biden administration to allow people to track their immigration cases. DHS said in a news release that people who use the app will be "deprioritized" for detention and removal by immigration officials. "If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. Genovese said flyers promoting the CBP Home app have turned up at immigration courts around the U.S., including the El Paso Immigration Court, which hears all New Mexico immigration cases. The flyers have created the appearance that immigration courts and judges support the self-deportation program, she said. "This is leading a lot of community members, a lot of immigrants, to believe that the odds are stacked against them," she said. "If a judge is encouraging the ability to self-deport, why would an immigrant believe that they have a fair shot at winning asylum or some other permanent status?" Genovese urged immigrants considering the offer to consult with an immigration attorney or a qualified immigration representative, a non-attorney who has credentials to argue cases in immigration courts.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New Mexico Immigrant Law Center feeling impact of federal cuts to unaccompanied minors program
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Amid the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration, on Friday, the federal government ended contracts with programs across the country that provide legal aid to unaccompanied migrant children. One of those terminated contracts was with the Unaccompanied Children Program at the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center. Story continues below Investigation: DWI cases Albuquerque officers and paralegal made disappear Crime: Santa Fe Police identify man who was killed in hit-and-run Don't Miss: Rio Rancho to review plans to redevelop old country club golf course 'It was devastating to be honest with you,' said Andres Santiago, Associate Managing Attorney at NMILC. 'The immigration system is a complicated system. We know this. And to expect a child to have to navigate that on their own is unconscionable.' He also noted how the immigration court for the state is in El Paso. With NMILC's help, the unaccompanied minors can get help moving the hearings to virtual hearings. He said their clients range in age from high school to just a few years old. 'They're fleeing really horrible situations, and for a lot of these kids, their parents or legal guardians aren't with them,' he said. According to NMILC, more than 300 kids statewide face deportation. 'The impact is huge,' Santiago said of the funding cut. The cut in funding directly impacts 212 of the law center's cases, with some kids having court dates as soon as Friday. NMILC is reviewing its cases and plans to continue representing its clients while they can. 'We have a legal obligation to these kids, we have a legal agreement with these kids to represent them as their attorneys,' said Santiago. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2008 created special protections for children who arrive in the U.S. without a parent or a legal guardian. The deputy press secretary at Health and Human Services told the Associated Press in an emailed statement that the department 'continues to meet the legal requirements established' by the Act, as well as a legal settlement guiding how children in immigration custody are being treated. A copy of the termination letter obtained by The Associated Press said the contract was being terminated 'for the Government's convenience.' Meanwhile, NMILC is scrambling to find funding. It is now heavily relying on donations and has launched a campaign to raise $1.5 million to make up for the loss of funding. 'Administration after administration have realized the special protections that are needed for unaccompanied children,' said Santiago. 'I understand there's going to be critics on everything, but I think we can all agree that kids deserve a fair shot in the country regardless of whether they're born in the country or not.' According to the NMILC, the cuts to this funding leave more than 26,000 unaccompanied minors without access to legal counsel nationwide. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NM lawyers helping 250 immigrant kids uneasy after federal funding was cut, then restored, last week
Travelers, including a woman and a child, cross an international bridge in El Paso in May 2023, just before the expiration of Title 42. A New Mexico center representing unaccompanied immigrant children briefly lost most of its funding last week following a stop-work order from a federal agency. The order was quickly rescinded. (Photo by Corrie Boudreaux for Source NM) A team at the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center representing children in immigration court is breathing an uneasy sigh of relief after the majority of the team's funding was abruptly cut, and then just as abruptly, restored last week. The immigrant law center currently has about 250 children as clients, including some as young as 2 or 3. Without the center's help, the vast majority of the kids would have to represent themselves in immigration court, said Andres Santiago, leader of the center's children's team, in an interview Friday with Source New Mexico. The center is a subcontractor for Acacia Legal Services, which receives funding from the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement to represent roughly 26,000 children under 18 who crossed the border without their parents. On Tuesday, the United States Department of the Interior issued the center a stop-work order and required it to inform its subcontractors across the country about the order. The children's team in New Mexico receives up to three-quarters of its funding from the federal government, Santiago said. The Tuesday announcement sent the team of seven attorneys into a flurry of activity. They called families of their clients and tried to reschedule court hearings to prevent a child going before a judge alone, he said. Families and kids called the center seeking urgent help, but the center was forced to put their cases on hold. Santiago said he never got a clear explanation why the funding was cut. The same held true Friday morning when the stop-work order was rescinded. 'Just as quickly as the announcement came, came the announcement that it was being rescinded,' he told Source New Mexico. 'And I think this kind of highlights the precarious nature of the funds. We're kind of at the whim right now to what may happen in the future.' The children the center represents have extended family in New Mexico. The children all crossed the border without their parents, including at ports of entry and elsewhere, largely coming from Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, with a smaller number from Cuba and Venezuela, Santiago said. A large number of them have suffered some form of abuse or neglect, Santiago said, including human or sex trafficking. After federal immigration authorities encounter a child, they are held in custody for up to 72 hours and then sent to juvenile detention centers across the country for up to 30 days while authorities find and vet members of their extended families in the United States, Santiago said. The kids whose families live in New Mexico are paired with NMILC attorneys as their immigration cases proceed. Thousands surrender to Border Patrol as Title 42 ends Many of the children qualify for humanitarian visas or are seeking asylum. Their lawyers help with that and also can argue to a judge that the kids should not be deemed high priority for deportation because they have a pathway to residency, Santiago said. It's hard to imagine what would happen to those kids if there weren't lawyers on their behalf in the courtroom, he said. 'Literally toddlers like 2 and 3 years old are some of the youngest ones that we're working with,' he said. 'And a stop-work order for them — like to expect a toddler or even a young person to represent themselves in court — it's unjust, and it's really cruel.' Santiago said he remains mystified that President Donald Trump's administration would seek to cut funding for immigrant children's legal help. Democrats and Republicans in Congress and the White House have repeatedly reauthorized funding, including for the current fiscal year. 'I can't really speak to things on, like, a national level. What I can speak to is that we currently represent about 250 kids,' he said. 'I can speak to the work that we're doing has a real impact on the kids that we serve.'
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New Mexico again considers ban on immigrant detention
Jessica Inez Martinez (right), director of policy and coalition building for the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, departs from the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee on Feb. 18, 2025 after the committee approved a bill to ban state and local governments in New Mexico from collaborating with the federal government to do immigrant detention. (Photo by Austin Fisher / Source NM) A proposal to ban state and local governments in New Mexico from collaborating with the federal government to do immigrant detention passed its first committee on Tuesday afternoon. The House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee on Tuesday afternoon voted 4-2 to pass House Bill 9, known as the Immigrant Safety Act. The legislation would prohibit state agencies and local governments from entering into agreements used to detain people for violations of civil immigration law, and would require any existing agreements to end as soon as possible. It doesn't affect enforcement of criminal law. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is holding approximately 1,500 people inside the three immigration detention centers in New Mexico, said Sophia Genovese, asylum and detention managing attorney with the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center and an expert on the bill. 'We have the power to hold the line in New Mexico and not let the Trump administration and ICE use our state as a laboratory for cruelty,' said Jessica Inez Martinez, director of policy and coalition building for the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, and another expert on the bill. The proposal comes as conservative cities and states increase cooperation with the federal government's deportation plans. Reps. Eleanor Chávez (D-Albuquerque), Angelica Rubio (D-Las Cruces), Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe) and Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos) are sponsoring HB 9. Chávez told the committee on Tuesday she is concerned that the federal government is using New Mexico counties as 'pass-throughs' and 'shields' in a scheme to detain immigrants. She said rather than directly hiring the private prison corporations, ICE enters into contracts with New Mexico counties, who turn around and subcontract with the companies to run the detention centers under documents called Intergovernmental Service Agreements. ICE does this in order to avoid the Competition in Contracting Act, Chávez said, which requires the federal government to competitively select contractors. 'Agreements with local public entities like New Mexico's counties create a loophole through the competition and transparency that is otherwise required in federal contracts,' she said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Democratic senators have twice joined Republicans to reject similar legislation last year and the year before, in starkly different political climates. HB 9 would also prevent any local government from passing an ordinance that would contradict the law. It would give the New Mexico Attorney General and local district attorneys the authority to enforce the law through a civil lawsuit. Federal oversight officials in 2022 told ICE to move everyone out of the Torrance County detention center in Estancia after finding conditions inside to be unsafe and unsanitary. ICE responded less than a month later by moving even more people into the detention center. That August, a Brazilian asylum seeker named Kesley Vial died by suicide while being held in Torrance. If not for systemic failures in medical and mental health care, almost all of the people who died in immigration detention in the U.S. between 2017 and 2021 could still be alive today, according to a report released last summer. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
