Republican Party of New Mexico
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
1. ICYMI - CIBOLA COUNTY SHERIFF TONY MACE DISCUSSES UNCONSTITUTIONAL NM GUN LAW
Cibola County Sheriff Tony Mace, president of the New Mexico Sheriff's Association, has been a key leader in the fight against the unconstitutional gun laws that earlier this year passed the New Mexico legislature and were signed into law by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
Gun control groups continue to lob accusations against Sheriff Mace and attack his position that these laws are unconstitutional, including one that says "people accused of domestic violence or who have a protective order against them can't have a gun."
From KOAT news:
"Cibola County Sheriff Tony Mace says the new law singles out people who are accused, not convicted.
'“You're telling me to go seize someone's personal property, take away their constitutional right to bear arms without even have committed a crime,” Mace said.
"Mace has publicly criticized the new law, saying he and other sheriffs could go as far as to not enforce it.
"That got national attention."
2. REGIONAL BORDER PATROL CHIEF ADDRESSES DONA ANA COUNTY COMMISSION; COUNTY EMERGENCY OPERATIONS MANAGER DECLARES "IT'S A CRISIS"
Last Tuesday, Aaron Hull, the U.S. Border Patrol chief for the region addressed the Dona Ana County Commission and explained why migrants are being released in Las Cruces
From the Las Cruces Sun-News:
"Chief Patrol Agent Aaron Hull, who addressed Doña Ana County commissioners in Las Cruces, said the ongoing influx of immigrant families from Central America is tying up the agency's personnel, allowing criminals to enter the country more easily....
"[Hull} said there are other federal agencies to which the Border Patrol routes immigrants after they're apprehended for crossing the border illegally. But a "decision was made at the national level" that Border Patrol can't continue detaining people when those other agencies are at capacity, he said.
"'That's when we started releasing people on their own recognizance," he said. "We started doing it in El Paso; we started doing it in Las Cruces. The challenge for us, in my career, I've never seen that. I've never had to give such an order, and it shows how difficult the process has become — the immigration system, the border security situation has become."'
At the same meeting, Cullen Combs, the emergency operations manager for Dona Ana County, told commissioners in plain language: "It is a crisis."
Perhaps, Democrat Congresswoman Deb Haaland from Albuquerque should speak to people like Hull and Combs who are on the front lines of this crisis.
Why? Because from over 200 miles away, Rep. Haaland told the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce that there is no crisis on the border!
The headline from the Albuquerque Journal said it all: "Haaland downplays talk of crisis at the border":
"U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland said Friday there is not an immigration crisis on the border with Mexico, characterizing a crisis as tanks crossing the border and the country being invaded."
If Haaland missed this story about the crisis in the local press, perhaps she will catch it as it makes national news.
From Time Magazine on Friday:
"A group of 1,036 migrants that crossed the border illegally El Paso, Texas, is the largest the Border Patrol has ever encountered, the agency said Thursday.
"The crossing was the latest sign that migrants are increasingly coming in large groups. The Border Patrol said it has found 180 groups of more than 100 people since October, compared to 13 in the previous 12-month period and two the year before."
And when a poor city like Deming has to allocate $1 million, or almost 10 percent of their general fund, to deal with ramifications from the influx if migrants coming into their community, you know it's definitely a crisis.
3. BORDER WALL SEGMENT SUCCESSFULLY ERECTED IN SUNLAND PARK; UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO CONSIDERS A BORDER WALL OF ITS OWN
Despite attempts by the Democrat mayor in Sunland Park to stop construction of the wall on private property, a segment of the border wall was successfully erected on Monday.
From CBS 4 News (El Paso):
"The new privately funded border wall being put up in Sunland Park, New Mexico, was completed on Monday. Sunday night workers put the final fence pour on the top of the mountain....
"They hope the gate deters anyone from trying to come down the south side of the fence.
"Brian Kolfage from the group ‘We Build the Wall’ said they don’t have exact numbers on how much this project has cost so far but said it’s looking like right around $7.5 million.
"The GoFundMe page created by this group is completely funding this entire project. Kolfage said the number of donors continues to grow, and the money will continue to go towards other projects.
'“We probably only have enough for two more at the moment. It’s definitely moving forward with the next one,' Kolfage said."
Meanwhile in an ironic twist, the University of New Mexico is also considering a border fence around its campus.
From the Albuquerque Journal:
"A new border wall is being considered for New Mexico.
"No, it isn’t President Trump’s wall on our state’s southern border, or another privately funded barrier like the one being erected in Sunland Park.
"This one would be a 10-foot-tall, wrought-iron fence with sharp points at the top, stucco portals and a metallic wolf staring down people who try to pass through. And it would be situated in the heart of Albuquerque, serving as a security barrier between New Mexico’s largest public university and the rest of the city....
"A spokesman for the university said in an email that the estimated cost of the project was about $1.6 million....
"The university paid Safeguards Consulting, a South Carolina security firm, $53,000 for a 'main campus perimeter security access study,' which was completed in January...
"The study was done after the university issued a request for proposals for a security master plan that would detail current security threats, suggest possible solutions and estimate the cost for each proposal. The request was issued last October."