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.
On Monday, U.S. Department of Labor Sec. Hilda Solis, together with the ambassadors of Costa Rica, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic, signed agreements guaranteeing the labor rights of workers from those countries residing within the United States. The ambassadors of Mexico, Guatemala and Nicaragua, countries which already have such agreements with the U.S. government, were also in attendance at the ceremony.
This week, the Republican Governors Public Policy Committee released a report on Medicaid that outlines cost-saving measures decided upon by 31 Republican governors. Among the policy recommendations is a proposal to require the federal government to pay for the care of undocumented immigrants.
An Albuquerque grand jury indicted three men with 386 counts of fraud, forgery, conspiracy, making false affidavit perjury and altered, forged or fictitious New Mexico driver’s licenses for over 60 Chinese immigrants living in New York, reports the AP.
The New York Times reports that the Obama Administration is allowing Mexican forces to stage operations against suspected drug traffickers from the American side of the border.
The implementation of a case by case review of at least 300,000 deportation proceedings, announced by the Department of Homeland Security last week, has left room for questions among immigrant advocate groups.
Marc Lacey of the New York Times reports today on the debate over driver’s licenses for foreign nationals in New Mexico. Much of the story covers the debate that is familiar to most New Mexicans. One piece of news in the debate is that a group of immigrants will file suit today over the verification program.
Antonio Diaz Chacon, 23, who gained national headlines for chasing down a kidnapper to save a six-year old girl in Albuquerque last week, told the media that he is an illegal immigrant.
A poll, released just two days after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced changes to its deportation proceedings, indicates that a majority of likely voters still favors border security.
The Roman Catholic Bishops of New Mexico support the current driver’s license law allowing foreign nationals to obtain a driver’s license with New Mexico residency, and oppose Gov. Susana Martinez’ push to change the law.
Many undocumented immigrants without criminal records who are up for deportation will be allowed to indefinitely stay in the United States and apply for work permits, said U.S. Department of Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano on Thursday.
A Superior Court judge on Friday rejected a challenge filed by Arizona State Senate President Russell Pearce’s attorney, ruling that the recall of Pearce could proceed. Groups cited Pearce’s authorship of the controversial immigration bill SB1070 among its reasons for seeking the recall.
Immigrant rights organizations will join today in a national day of action in six U.S. cities to deliver a report that documents what they see as Secure Communities abuses, demanding that the Obama administration terminate the immigration enforcement program immediately.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives promoted three supervisors to new management operations after they supervised operation Operation Fast and Furious, which allowed nearly 2,000 guns to “walk” across the U.S./Mexico border over 14 months. Nearly 200 have been recovered at crime scenes in Mexico and two guns were at the scene of the murder of Border Patrolman Brian Terry.
As governor of Texas, Rick Perry has walked both sides of the immigration line, at one point implementing a Dream Act that some say was the model for the national act. On the other hand, he’s authorized local police to inquire about the immigration status of anyone they come in contact with. One of those positions will play like gangbusters in the GOP primary and the other one will appeal to Latino voters in the general election if he gets that far. For both groups, though, there is that other Rick Perry who will always be on their minds.
State legislators introduced 1,592 immigration-related bills and resolutions in the first half of 2011, according to a new report from the National Conference of State Legislatures, an increase of 16 percent over the number of immigration bills introduced in the first half of 2010. State legislatures have enacted 151 new immigration-related laws this year.
Mexican immigration to the United States has slowed to a trickle, according to the Mexican government. Migration from Mexico peaked in 2006 or 2007, when roughly one percent of the population left the country each year. Today, the number is around one third of one percent per year, says Mexico.
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 U.S.-Mexico border is more secure than it’s ever been, according to current and former top border officials who appeared at a panel hosted by the Center for American Progress on Thursday.
The National Rifle Association filed a lawsuit Wednesday in D.C. Federal Court seeking an injunction against a new rule requiring gun dealers in Arizona, New Mexico, California and Texas to inform the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) if a person buys more than one semiautomatic rifle that accepts a detachable magazine and uses ammunition greater than .22 caliber within five days.
An analysis by the Transactional Records Clearinghouse at Syracuse University shows that two immigration judges in El Paso, Tex., have a much higher denial rate than the national average. El Paso borders Juarez, Mexico, a city known for its out-of-control drug violence; there have been about 1,220 homicides this year, while there were 3,100 in 2010.
