Climate justice protesters blockade New Mexico Legislature on session’s opening day - By Austin Fisher, Source New Mexico
On the New Mexico Legislature’s opening day Jan. 21, climate justice protesters blockaded the street in front of the Roundhouse, demanding state lawmakers take immediate climate action.
Demonstrators parked vehicles on Old Santa Fe Trail, while a crowd of young people painted a clock on the pavement to show the urgency of the climate crisis and demand protection for stolen, sacred lands and of their futures.
The group escalated to a blockade after disrupting the governor’s State of the State address in 2024, and staging a die-in inside the capitol rotunda in 2023.
Protesters included members of Youth United for Climate Crisis Action (YUCCA), Pueblo Action Alliance, Southwest Organizing Project, the Santa Fe Ad Hoc Committee on Palestine, Third Act New Mexico and students from United World College in Las Vegas, New Mexico.
YUCCA Policy Campaign Manager Ennedith López said since her organization was founded six years ago, lawmakers have largely ignored climate and environmental justice. Her group plans to support legislation focusing on human rights, housing, and specific proposals creating a one-mile buffer zone preventing oil and gas operations around schools, day cares, parks and playgrounds, and limiting ozone air pollution.
YUCCA plans to oppose Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s strategic water supply proposal, López said. That program would receive $75 million under a bill sponsored by Rep. Susan Herrera (D-Embudo) that would make the state government a middleman to solicit projects to develop treatments for salty water deep underground or oil and gas wastewater, and to create rules to regulate those projects.
“Knowing that there isn’t science to back safety for human consumption or even simply the Earth, it’s just too risky of an investment for our communities,” López said.
Today’s protest follows yesterday’s executive order from President Donald Trump withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement. Gov Lujan Grisham, co-chair of the United States Climate Alliance, yesterday released a letter with Co-Chair New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change reiterating the Alliance’s commitment to its climate goals: “This is not the first time we’ve responded to this challenge in the U.S,” the letter noted. “Our coalition was launched after the President’s decision to withdraw our country from the Paris Agreement back in 2017. Since then, our reach, resolve, and impact have only grown.”
Climate change legislation during this year’s session includes The Clear Horizons Act, which would codify Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s 2019 executive order to reduce 2005 level emissions by at least 45% by 2030. The bill would set the goals of reducing emissions by 50% by 2040 and 100% by 2050, and charge the Environmental Improvement Board with inventorying progress towards the goals.
Chevron discloses it pledged unspecified amount to Trump’s inauguration - Susan Morée, New Mexico Political Report
Chevron, a major player in New Mexico’s Permian Basin, has contributed an undisclosed sum to President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
According to the nonprofit Public Citizen, 31 corporations have pledged at least $32.1 million to Trump’s inauguration. That is only a small portion of the $170 million Trump’s inauguration committee has announced it raised.
Emily Leach, spokesperson for Public Citizen, said the watchdog group is only tracking donations that are $1 million or more. She said the public knows that Trump’s inauguration committee has raised $170 million only because the committee has disclosed as much. The committee’s contributions won’t become public until 90 days after the inauguration.
Leach said Chevron is the only company in the oil and gas industry that has publicly said it would be donating to the committee, but it did not disclose how much.
One reason why the amount raised is noteworthy is because this will be the most expensive inauguration in history. Trump raised $107 million for his first inauguration. President Joe Biden, by contrast, raised $62 million for his inauguration in 2020. Former President Barack Obama raised $53 million for his first inauguration in 2009, which at the time was record setting.
Corporations often make large donations to both sides of the aisle for presidential inaugurations. Chevron donated $525,000 to Trump’s first inauguration in 2017 and $1 million to Obama’s second inauguration in 2013. Chevron did not donate to Biden’s 2020 inauguration because Biden prohibited donations from the oil and gas industry for his inauguration.
Critics of the incoming Trump administration are concerned over the significant influx of corporate money and the potential influence it could have on the in-coming president over the next four years.
Chevron and Trump’s inauguration committee did not respond to a request for comment.
BernCo rolls out new zoning rules for shooting ranges - Rodd Cayton, City Desk ABQ
Bernalillo County gun enthusiasts could eventually have more options for target practice, firearms education and training.
County commissioners have approved new zoning rules that will permit indoor and outdoor shooting ranges in some unincorporated areas.
Zoning administrator Maggie Gould said the county’s comprehensive zoning ordinance previously had no provision for shooting ranges. She said staff hopes the amendment will provide areas for people to use firearms safely, and possibly reduce target practice in unauthorized areas.
The rules will confine outdoor shooting ranges to rural areas of the county, as they may only be placed on properties of at least 40 acres. Those special use permits will be granted only in designated rural areas of the comprehensive plan.
“They’re not going to impinge on residential uses,” Gould said.
Each applicant must provide a noise dampening study, certified by a licensed professional engineer, according to the code amendment.
Indoor shooting ranges will be allowed as a conditional use in certain commercial and manufacturing zones. Those developers will also be required to have noise studies done.
Each range will also be required to maintain a buffer space between the property line and any shooting areas, as well as follow best management practices for lead, as outlined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Gould told commissioners staff consulted with law enforcement and looked at regulations in Albuquerque and other communities in the West for guidance in writing the rules.
Migrants stranded when thousands of appointments to enter the US are canceled as Trump takes office - By Julie Watson and Megan Janetsky, Associated Press
They came from Haiti, Venezuela and around the world, pulling small rolling suitcases crammed with clothing and stuffed animals to occupy their children. They clutched cellphones showing that after months of waiting they had appointments — finally — to legally enter the United States.
Now outside a series of north Mexico border crossings where mazes of concrete barriers and thick fencing eventually spill into the United States, hope and excitement evaporated into despair and disbelief moments after President Donald Trump took office. U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Monday that the CBP One app that worked as recently as that morning would no longer be used to admit migrants after facilitating entry for nearly 1 million people since January 2023.
Tens of thousands of appointments that were scheduled into February were canceled, applicants were told.
That was it. There was no way to appeal, and no one to talk to.
In Tijuana, where 400 people were admitted daily on the app at a border crossing with San Diego, Maria Mercado had to work up the courage to check her phone.
Tears ran down her cheeks after she finally looked. Her family's appointment was for 1 p.m., four hours too late.
"We don't know what we are going to do," she said, standing with her family within view of the United States.
She left Colombia decades ago after it was overrun by drug cartel violence, heading to Ecuador. When cartels besieged her new homeland, the family fled again, in June, this time to Mexico, hoping to reach the U.S.
"I'm not asking the world for anything — only God. I'm asking God to please let us get in," she said.
Immigrants around her hugged or cried quietly. Many stared ahead blankly, not knowing what do. A nearby sign urged people to get the CBP One app. "This will facilitate your processing," it said.
CBP One has been wildly popular, especially with Venezuelans, Cubans, Haitians and Mexicans. Now, they were stranded at the U.S. border or deeper in Mexico.
Jairol Polo, 38, tried getting an appointment for six months from Mexico City before snagging one for Wednesday in Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas. The Cuban man flew Monday from Mexico's capital to learn at the Matamoros-Brownsville border crossing that his appointment was canceled.
"Imagine how we feel," he said dejectedly while smoking a cigarette.
People with morning appointments got through on schedule. Andrum Roman, a 28-year-old Venezuelan, was in the last group to cross the border with the CBP One in Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas.
"We are a little safer now because we are here," he said just before handing over his documents to U.S. authorities. "But you still don't know what's going to happen," he said.
Another Venezuelan, Rober Caruzi, entered El Paso right behind him. "I reached the border twice and I was returned twice, but I didn't lose hope," he said.
By afternoon, the app was down.
CBP One is effectively a lottery system that give appointments to 1,450 people a day at one of eight border crossings. People enter the U.S. on immigration "parole," a presidential authority that former President Joe Biden used more than any other president since it was introduced in 1952.
Its demise follows Trump's campaign promises, and will please its critics, who see it as an overly generous magnet attracting people to Mexico's border with the United States.
Despite a glitchy launch in January 2023, it quickly became a critical piece of the Biden administration's border strategy to expand legal pathways while cracking down on asylum for people who enter illegally. Supporters say it brought order amid the tumult of illegal crossings.
Many migrant shelters in Mexico are now occupied largely by people who tapped their phones daily hoping for an appointment. U.S. Customs and Border Protection says about 280,000 people try daily for the 1,450 slots.
The demise of CBP One will be coupled with the return of "Remain in Mexico," a remnant of Trump's first term that forced about 70,000 asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court.
Matthew Hudak, who retired last year as deputy chief of the Border Patrol, said the demise of CBP One could encourage people to cross illegally. To be effective, it must be coupled with something like "Remain in Mexico," he said.
"The message with CBP One being shut down is basically, 'Hey we're not going to allow you to show up; the doors are not going to be open.' For that to be meaningful, there has to be some level of consequence if you bypass any lawful means and you're doing it illegally," he said.
News of CBP One's abrupt end shocked migrants across Mexico.
Juan Andrés Rincón Ramos, a 19-year-old Venezuelan, cried with joy in early January when he got an asylum appointment through CBP One after months of trying. It was a lurch of hope after five years living in Peru and seven months in Mexico struggling to reach the U.S., where his brother lives in Pittsburgh.
In the makeshift Mexico City migrant camp where he lives, the fantasy of a life he dreamed for himself evaporated when he got the notification that his appointment had been canceled.
"It was a moment of hope, but it didn't last," he said. "Everyone trusted in the American dream, but we were all wrong."
New Mexico Legislature will tackle public safety and more starting Tuesday - Danielle Prokop, Austin Fisher, Patrick Lohmann, Leah Romero and Julia Goldberg, Source New Mexico
New Mexico lawmakers will convene at noon on Tuesday, Jan. 21 with a hefty 60-day agenda and a healthy budget to help fund existing and new initiatives across a spectrum of programs. Democratic leaders over the last few weeks expressed optimism that their agendas dovetail with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s. Here are a few of the top areas to watch.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Following a failed and contentious special session on public safety last summer, the governor embarked on a statewide tour of town halls, gathering public support for her agenda. “I embarked on these specific public safety town halls because I am struggling to get policymakers to help us enact new laws that we believe would make us all safer in our communities and create real accountability, by a number of populations, that I don’t think have been accountable since 2016 or before,” Lujan Grisham said at a recent town hall in Raton.
Specifically, the governor will push for updated treatment requirements for competency cases, pretrial detention and stricter penalties for violent offenses, among other bills. House leaders recently unveiled their own agenda, prioritizing public safety alongside improvements to the state’s behavioral health care system. Expect to see public safety and behavioral health take center stage during the first 30 days of the session.”
“I think the two parts of this overall package that we’ll do in the first 30 days are something certainly that the governor wants: It fits into her agenda,” Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe) told Source (look for the complete interview tomorrow). “Obviously, there will be discussions about what is in the public safety agenda package – her priorities and our priorities – but I’m feeling more optimistic about a process that’s good to get us where we need to go.”
HOUSING
Lawmakers touted the 2024 session as “historic” to address the state’s housing crisis, calling it the biggest one-time investment in housing in the Legislature’s history.
That meant nearly $200 million awarded for housing and homelessness initiatives, including $125 million in revolving loans to spur affordable housing infrastructure, $50 million for down payment assistance and other subsidies, $20 million to help unhoused people and several million more for a new Office of Housing in the governor’s office.
Some of that money has been spent, but the state still lacks thousands of housing units and is experiencing a sharp increase in people living on the streets.
This year, several bills have already been filed or announced seeking to address the many challenges for New Mexicans seeking shelter.
One from Sen. Harold Pope (D-Albuquerque) would ban private equity from buying single family homes in New Mexico. Another from Sen. Linda Lopez, also an Albuquerque Democrat, would allow local communities to cap rent increases. A third from Rep. Kathleen Cates (D-Rio Rancho) would require landlords to calculate prospective tenants’ rent-to-income ratios only after subsidies like child support or Section 8 are accounted for.
Cates told Source New Mexico last Friday that she expects a big increase of housing policy bills this session over previous years. She is introducing at least two more housing bills this year, including one that she hopes will make it easier for homebuyers to get federally backed mortgages at condominium complexes and another to subsidize homebuying for medical professionals.
She said she’s joining a group of about 15 lawmakers who are mulling housing bills. That number was two or three in previous legislative sessions, she said.
“I’ve never seen that many people,” she said of her peers’ increased interest in housing policy. “And we’re all carrying more than one. So you’re gonna see a lot of housing bills.”
But it’s an open question whether lawmakers will consider spending as much this year on housing as they did last year, Cates said. She suspects the biggest funding asks will be for two other pressing concerns: behavioral health and water.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s executive budget also proposes $50 million for a housing downpayment assistance program, $50 million for homelessness programs and initiatives and $2 million for statewide housing initiatives.
ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH
Lawmakers announced several climate priorities just before the opening of the 2025 legislative session, including efforts to beef up up climate and public health tracking; limit oil and gas drilling around schools, parks and daycare centers; and increase funding for water initiatives.
Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque) will carry forward three bills this session. The Clear Horizons Act, which will codify Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s 2019 executive order to reduce 2005 level emissions by at least 45% by 2030. The bill would set the goals of reducing emissions by 50% by 2040 and 100% by 2050, and charge the Environmental Improvement Board with inventorying progress towards the goals.
Stewart called the act “bold action,” and said working to meet the state’s investments in reducing emissions can strengthen the economy.
“My top environmental priority is reducing the emissions that are polluting our air and threatening our New Mexican way of life while creating new opportunities for communities statewide to thrive in a resilient and sustainable future,” Stewart said in a statement to Source. “New Mexicans are experiencing the impacts of ignoring the climate crisis right now, from wildfire to drought.”
Additionally, Stewart is asking for a $340 million Community Benefit Fund, which if passed, would provide funding to projects that reduce emissions and assist communities. A second $10 million Innovation in Government Fund would provide money for state agencies to support efforts to reduce emissions.
The Santa Fe-based think tank Think New Mexico has focused its efforts on tackling New Mexico’s health care worker shortage. A range of proposed policies from the organization include reform of New Mexico’s medical malpractice laws; boosting support for education programs; joining other state’s health worker compacts; and a $2 billion dollar fund to pay for the reforms.
EDUCATION
Public education accounts for a hefty amount of both proposed budgets. Specifically, K-12 would see an approximate 6% budget increase to $4.69 billion while higher education is looking at $1.4 billion this legislative session, as recommended by both the governor’s office and the Legislative Finance Committee. The Legislature has allocated increasingly large amounts of funds to public education programs targeted at reading and writing, math, absenteeism and graduation rates, the LFC budget report notes, but student outcomes remain low. The report states that lawmakers will need to evaluate the effectiveness of the programs before making more long term investments.
Lawmakers plan to introduce several bills this session to increase funding for STEM education, teacher salaries and Career Technical Education. Other bills will propose changes to the capital outlay match local school districts and the Public Education Department spend on construction projects, as well as suggest an interstate teacher mobility compact.
Rep. Debra Sariñana (D-Albuquerque) prefiled a bill proposing New Mexico join an interstate teacher mobility compact which would make it easier for teachers crossing state lines to earn licensure.
Sen. Bill Soules (D-Las Cruces), who chairs the Legislative Education Study Interim Committee, said he will be sponsoring a bill providing more funding to math education throughout the state. He said the bill will also address improvements to how the subject is taught.
“Our scores from Martinez-Yazzie and that whole lawsuit indicate that our reading and writing are very poor. We’ve done a lot on improving the reading and writing side of it but not the math,” Soules said.
GOVERNMENT
While 60 days gives lawmakers time to wrangle over policy, passing a budget remains a key aspect of any session. Both the governor and the Legislative Finance Committee’s budgets propose close to $11 billion in spending, and appear to have more similarities than differences heading into the session.
While lawmakers settle in, good-government group Common Cause will advocate during the session for an Independent Salary Commission via state constitutional amendment. The ultimate goal? Paying legislators for their work.
“Allowing legislators to receive a salary would empower more New Mexicans to run for the legislature and serve the communities they love,” Mason Graham, Common Cause policy director said in a statement. “These pivotal seats shouldn’t be limited by the need to support a family, hold a full time job or financial freedom.”