Native communities in New Mexico hope new Turquoise Alert System will facilitate the safe return of more missing members

By Rebekah Riess, CNN

(CNN) — New Mexico this week became the latest state to pass a law aimed at addressing an ongoing national crisis surrounding missing and murdered Indigenous people – particularly in unsolved cases involving women and girls.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Monday signed a bill creating the new Turquoise Alert System. It’s among a series of federal and state initiatives launched across the country in recent years to address an issue advocates and tribal leaders say has largely been ignored.

Homicide is the No. 1 cause of death for American Indian and Alaska Native females between the ages of 10 and 24 and the fifth-leading cause of death for 25- to 34-year-olds, according to US Rep. Mike Simpson, who last year wrote an op-ed highlighting how Indigenous women and girls are murdered at a disproportionate rate.

Nationally, 40% of all victims of sex trafficking are identified as American Indian and Alaska Native women. In 2023 alone, over 5,800 American Indian and Alaska Native females were reported missing, 74% of whom were children, according to data provided by the Idaho Republican – who chairs the House Interior and Environment Subcommittee.

“We have witnessed firsthand the devastation of delayed responses in cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous women and relatives … and this law gives us the tools to ensure that no more families experience this unnecessary heartache,” Tiffany Jiron, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women, said in a statement after the passage of the New Mexico legislation.

“Today’s victory is a testament to the power of advocacy, resilience, and the unwavering determination of Native communities to stand up for their rights and their loved ones,” wrote Jiron.

With arrival of the Turquoise Alert System, which will go into effect on July 1, New Mexico becomes the fourth state with a specialized alert system focused on Indigenous people, according to the New Mexico Department of Indian Affairs. Washington, California, and Colorado each have similar systems in place, but New Mexico’s alert system will be the first to utilize cell phone alerts, said Paris Wise of the New Mexico Department of Indian Affairs.

There are 23 tribes in New Mexico and the state’s Native American citizens represent nearly 12.4% of its population, according to the New Mexico Department of Indian Affairs.

“Most of our folks live off tribal land, just like anywhere else in the country. And there were a lot of questions while we were introducing this, like, ‘Is this going to help tribal police?’ or ‘Is this for when people leave the reservation?’ Just these questions that are still rooted in a deep misunderstanding of our community,” bill sponsor state Sen. Angel M. Charley told CNN.

“A lot of our people don’t live on tribal land and this is another tool that can be used for the safety of native people when they do go missing.”

New Mexico’s Legislature in March unanimously passed Senate Bill 41, creating the new alert system, with a 60-0 vote.

Alert system named after ‘powerful’ stone

The Turquoise Alert System was named to reflect the importance of the stone to the Nations, Pueblos and Tribes in New Mexico, in particular. “Additionally, we also looked at how some of the other Alerts happen to be like a “stone” (Amber) or “metal” (Silver),” New Mexico Indian Affairs Department Cabinet Secretary Josett D. Monette told CNN. “Turquoise is considered a powerful stone among the Nations, Pueblos and Tribes in New Mexico and represents their strength and resilience.”

The new alert system will link law enforcement agencies, tribal communities, and state resources to provide a rapid response when Native Americans are reported missing. It will function similarly to existing alert systems, like Amber and Silver alerts, by rapidly sharing information about missing Native Americans with the public through law enforcement channels, cell phone alerts, news media, social media, and digital highway signs.

The New Mexico Department of Public Safety, or the lead law enforcement agency, will be responsible for issuing Turquoise Alerts, based on specific criteria to ensure an immediate and effective response, according to the New Mexico Department of Indian Affairs.

Legislators worked closely with the department of public safety in drafting the bill to ensure it would meet emergency thresholds needed to activate the alert so as not to overwhelm the system, Charley said.

“Right now, we have – in New Mexico – over 200 active missing cases,” Charley told CNN.

“I think folks were really concerned that one, it would overwhelm folks, and two, that people would opt out of the system altogether.”

The state senator said legislators worked with the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, agreeing to increase one of the required alerting thresholds to include language stating there would need to be “evidence of imminent danger of serious bodily harm to or death of the missing person,” to trigger an alert from cellular service companies.

“For years now, we have stepped up on our own to help locate our missing brothers and sisters through coordinated local efforts and on social media,” another bill sponsor, state Rep. Michelle Paulene Abeyta, said. “Establishing the Turquoise Alert will allow the state to amplify these community-led efforts to better ensure the protection and safe return of our loved ones.”

Amplified federal efforts

New Mexico’s bid to address the crisis comes amid efforts from the federal government to assist with locating missing Native Americans and solve violent crimes in Indigenous communities.

Earlier this month, the US Justice Department announced the FBI would be sending extra agents, analysts and other personnel to field offices in 10 states over the next six months to help investigate unsolved violent crimes, to address high rates of violence affecting Native American communities.

Work to address the decadeslong crisis stretches back to President Donald Trump’s first term, when he established a special task force aimed at curbing the high rate of killings and disappearances among Native Americans and Alaska Natives.

In August, the Federal Communications Commission voted to establish a new missing and endangered persons alert, which is particularly beneficial to tribal communities, to deliver critical alert messages to the public over television, radio, and wireless phones.

The new missing and endangered persons alerts within the nation’s Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alert system will help law enforcement agencies steer public attention toward missing and endangered people of all ages who do not qualify for Amber Alerts, the FCC said.

The “MEP” alert code for missing and endangered persons specifically applies where criteria for an Amber Alert are not met and enables a “more rapid and coordinated response to these incidents,” according to the FCC.

A software manufacturer is in the process of implementing that code into alerting software currently in use in New Mexico, the state Department of Public Safety says.

“Once it is available, we will utilize the MEP alert code to distribute alerts via the Wireless Emergency Alerts and Emergency Alert System, but only when there is evidence of imminent danger of serious bodily harm to or death of the missing person and that there is enough descriptive information about the missing person to assist in locating that person,” Sgt. Ricardo Breceda with New Mexico State Police told CNN.

CNN’s Nicole Chavez contributed to this report.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.