I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement sent out letters to 39 governors Friday, terminating all existing Memoranda of Agreement between states and ICE for the Secure Communities program, which shares fingerprints collected by state and local law enforcement to deport criminals. The letters say simply that such MOAs are not necessary to enforce the program.
John Denko, former New Mexico Secretary of the Department of Public Safety, signed an agreement (pdf) in September 2009 to implement the program.
ICE had been trying to get states to sign on to the program. It originally described the program as voluntary, but later changed course and said that fingerprint data shared with the FBI would be shared with ICE anyway. However, New York, Illinois and other localities decided to opt out of the program after concerns were raised that it would hamper cooperation with the police among immigrants and that immigrants were being deported before being convicted of a crime or for minor offenses.
According to the Los Angeles Times, 77,000 immigrants have been deported under the program, including 28,000 violent offenders.
