Local attorney suggests El Paso ‘divorce’ Texas, join New Mexico

In an article published on tribetalk.org, El Paso attorney Steve Fischer suggests the Sun City get a “divorce” from Texas to become a part of New Mexico.

“Our marriage to Texas has gotten old. New Mexico is younger and more attractive. We would not be ignored, especially because we would be their largest city,” Fischer wrote.

In the article titled, “Y’all, We Need a Divorce,” Fischer wrote about the belief that most Texans don’t even know about El Paso, except, perhaps, those who’ve driven through on their way to or from Arizona or California.

Fischer also laments about what many people warn him, “Be careful there’s lots of crime (in El Paso).”

“Excuse me, but El Paso is not Juarez, and we rank among the safest American cities. When the FBI compiled its 30 most dangerous places in Texas, El Paso didn’t even make the list. Houston’s homicide is six times higher than El Paso’s, Dallas four times higher, and there are many smaller towns whose murder and crime rates well exceed ours,” Fischer wrote.

Fischer also touched on education. He noted that El Paso is the largest city with only one major, four-year university, and argues that the University of Texas at El Paso is not getting the funding and recognition it deserves.

“The University of Texas at El Paso, with over 25,000 students and growing, should be nurtured as a ‘tier one’ university, but it isn’t given the funding. In sports, UTEP has never been invited to join any of our state’s major conferences, which is too bad, as some of those teams really need a win,” he wrote.

In his plea for El Paso to leave the state of Texas, Fischer also notes the rejection of El Paso candidates seeking statewide offices.

“No one has been elected from our city. Texas has elected two governors born in South Carolina, two from Georgia and several from other states, but no one from El Paso. This year, Texas has a chance to elect an El Pasoan to the U.S. Senate, with Beto O’Rourke, however the response from other parts of state has been personal and nasty. People 700 miles away are claiming he recently made up the nickname ‘Beto’ for politics. How would they know? If it weren’t for GPS many of them couldn’t even find El Paso,” Fischer wrote.

Fischer says it’s time for El Paso to break up with Texas and become a part of New Mexico.

“Grant us a divorce and we won’t even request the back support. If there are any El Pasoans who think we need a wall to protect us, take ’em. You can have custody and everyone will be better off,” Fischer wrote.