This crisis however is not new, and despite the Governor’s claims, we all saw it coming. As a lifelong citizen of southern New Mexico, I have long witnessed the impacts of America’s broken immigration system on my local communities. Consequently, when I took office in 2021, I wrote a letter to the Governor, asking her to deploy the National Guard to the border and urging her to work with our congressional delegation on a federal immigration fix. I never received a response. More recent, my Senate Republican colleagues and I sent letters to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary and the Governor, again requesting assistance at the border. To date, we have not received a response.
Fortunately, we now have this leaked audio in which the Governor confesses what we all know—there is an escalating crisis at New Mexico’s southern border, and we have to act now. The humanitarian and national security implications cannot be overstated, and it’s clearer than ever that we cannot wait for the Biden administration to fix the mess they created. For years, the Governor has punted the problem to Washington D.C., even stating in the leaked conversation that she feels “boxed-in.” However, we are not “boxed-in,” and it’s time we take action to secure our state, protect our citizens, and save human lives.
Deferring to the feds on an issue they have failed to address for decades is a dereliction of our duties as state officials. The truth is, through executive and legislative action, we have the ability to meaningfully address this crisis if we can summon the political courage to do so. Together with my Senate Republican colleagues, I have proposed several bills for the upcoming Special Session to help secure our communities, target fentanyl dealers, and improve border security and surveillance. Although these bills are not a fix-all, they will help curb some of the mass-scale illegal activity plaguing our communities until the inept politicians in Washington D.C. get it together.
As a state and nation, we are experiencing the largest influx of illegal immigration, human trafficking, and drug smuggling in history. And while this crisis is the fault of politicians, it should not be a political matter. There are unspeakable atrocities happening in our backyard, and I refuse to deflect, hide, or turn a blind eye. If you agree that it’s time for New Mexico to do something to secure the border, please contact the Governor and Democratic state legislators and tell them, “The border crisis is a public safety crisis, and we demand action.”
