Controversial Policy At Center Of Protest In Las Cruces
Dozens of protesters gathered in Apodaca Park in Las Cruces Thursday afternoon, denouncing a new policy put into effect by New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez at the beginning of the month.
The policy, signed into law as an executive order Feb. 1, allows state troopers to question the immigration status of those who are accused of a crime.
Protesters with the Border Network for Human Rights, an El Paso-based organization with representation in southern New Mexico, waved American flags and carried banners decrying the policy. One large sign read in Spanish, “We implore you, don’t hurt New Mexico with your hatred and racism/You are also a Latina and don’t forget it.”
“(Gov. Martinez) doesn’t understand that immigrant workers are part of the economy in New Mexico. They are part of our security,” said Fernando Garcia, the executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights. “And if you alienate our communities, Latinos and Hispanics and immigrant communities from our local law enforcement, then you will have a public safety crisis.”
This was one of several protests in the state of New Mexico over the controversial new policy. Hundreds gathered in Santa Fe in front of the Capitol building Monday.
The BNHR is asking the governor to find what it calls a common sense solution to the immigration issue. Garcia called the policy currently in place “crazy.”
“This is not pragmatic,” he said. “This is not providing solutions. And this is more about anti-immigrant, possibly xenophobic agenda that the governor is spearheading in New Mexico.”
Governor Martinez, who took office on January 1, said in a statement upon signing the executive order, “The criminal justice system should have the authority to determine the immigration status of all criminals, regardless of race or ethnicity, and report illegal immigrants who commit crimes to federal authorities.”
