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.
Gov. Susana Martinez is the only U.S. governor in attendance at this year’s Border Governors Conference in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, which brings together representatives from the governments of the states along the U.S.-Mexican border.
The governors of the four U.S. southern border states will join their counterparts from the northern states of Mexico in a conference to be held in Ensenada, Baja California. Gov. Susana Martinez will serve as vice-chair of the conference,…
Arizona wrapped its 50th legislative session this week, with both Republican-controlled chambers passing several pieces of legislation that will likely impact women seeking abortions in the coming year. All abortion-related bills that passed have been signed by Gov. Jan Brewer.
On the week of the one-year anniversary of Arizona’s controversial anti-immigration bill — which has provoked copycats throughout the country — Republican Gov. Jan Brewer signed controversial legislation concerning the political clout of religious institutions, among other issues.
A new measure, signed into law by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer Tuesday, allows the biological father of a fetus — or the mother’s parents, if the mother is underage — to press charges against the person who administers the procedure if it was sought because of the fetus’ race or sex.
Ariz. Gov. Jan Brewer might call that state’s Legislature in for a special session to tweak a controversial immigration law, parts of which a federal judge stopped from taking effect in a ruling last week, the Arizona Republic is…
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson will co-host a Border Governors Conference on September 19-20 in Santa Fe. Leaders from Mexico and U.S. border states will discuss border security, economic development and energy.
The meeting will be paid…
An annual border governor’s conference will be hosted in Santa Fe, not Arizona, Gov. Richardson has announced. Originally the meeting was to be held in Arizona, but it was canceled after Mexican governors said they would boycott because of Arizona’s…
Gov. Bill Richardson will appear tonight on MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann to discuss the annual border governor’s meeting between American and Mexican governors. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer canceled the conference after Mexican governors said they would not attend…
The New Mexico Independent’s fifth weekly podcast includes a discussion of the state budget, New Mexico’s new plan to track childhood obesity rates and the latest news on the Arizona immigration law.
New Mexico Independent senior reporter Trip Jennings joined…
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer cancelled the annual border governors’ meeting, scheduled to happen in Arizona this year, after Mexican border governors said they would boycott the meeting because of Arizona’s new immigration law. But now Gov. Bill Richardson’s office
The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday filed suit against Arizona governor Jan Brewer and the state of Arizona, challenging a new Arizona immigration law, saying it “crossed a constitutional line.”
The brief argues that Arizona law “is preempted by…
Arizona political candidates who opt into the state’s public financing system lost a key weapon this week to keep pace with opponents who are heavily outspending them.
The nation’s top court issued a temporary emergency order Tuesday preventing candidates and…
Gallup, New Mexico won’t be scheduling or attending any “trainings, seminars, conferences or meeting located within the state of Arizona,” Gallup City Manager David Pederson said in a letter to Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, dated April 28. The city, about…
The end of the U.S.-Mexico border fence in California (Photo by Bisayan lady/Flickr)
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer cited “border violence and crime due to illegal immigration” as motivations for signing a controversial law requiring people in Arizona to carry proof that they are in the U.S. legally.
But FBI and U.S. Department of Justice data show that Arizona’s violent crime rate is lower than the U.S. average and has been declining more rapidly than the U.S. average, The Independent found.
Despite a growing population, violent crime rates dropped sharply in Arizona between 2002 and 2008, the latest year for which complete federal crime data are available online.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, Arizona’s population-adjusted violent crime rate dropped from 555 reported incidents per 100,000 people in 2002 to 447 per 100,000 in 2008.
That 19.5 percent decline was much more pronounced than the U.S. average during the same time period, The Independent found.
Nationwide, the violent crime rate dropped by 7.9 percent, from 494 violent crimes per 100,000 population in 2002 to 455 in 2008, The Independent found.
New Mexico saw a 12 percent decline in violent crimes between 2002 and 2008, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics database.
But at nearly 650 violent crimes per 100,000 people in 2008, New Mexico’s crime rate was considerably higher than both Arizona’s and the U.S. average.
Reports by the nonpartisan Immigration Policy Center and libertarian CATO Institute both indicate crime rates fell in Arizona over the past decade.
Census data show that overall, immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born people, according to both institutes.
ICE officials did not return The Independent’s calls Monday, requesting illegal immigration statistics for New Mexico, Arizona and Texas.
Lt. Gov., and gubernatorial candidate, Diane Denish denounced the recently-signed Arizona immigration law, calling it “racial profiling” and says that it goes “too far.” The law would allow police officers to ask anyone about their immigration status as long as…
Arizona governor Jan Brewer signed into law a bill that would allow authorities to ask anyone who they suspect of being in the country illegally to prove their immigration status.
Governor Bill Richardson told Arizona governor Jan Brewer that he believes she should veto a bill that some say will lead to racial profiling.
Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos confirmed to the Associated Press that Richardson called Brewer.
Governor Bill Richardson took an aerial survey the boot-heel area of the Mexican border on Wednesday, along with with Arizona governor Jan Brewer. Last week, Richardson ordered members of the New Mexico National Guard to patrol the border…
Governor Bill Richardson ordered more law enforcement officers to the New Mexico-Mexico border today, following the killing of Arizona rancher Robert Krentz.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the border, there have been nearly 600 murders in Juarez, including…
The New Mexico Independent’s fifth weekly podcast includes a discussion of the state budget, New Mexico’s new plan to track childhood obesity rates and the latest news on the Arizona immigration law.