Proposed SNAP cuts would impact 450,000 New Mexicans — Hannah Grover, NM.news
Democrats in the U.S. Congress are warning that proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will directly impact 450,000 New Mexicans and could have widespread impacts on the economy, not just on low-income people who rely on the benefits to put food on the table.
U.S. Sens. Ben Ray Luján, D-New Mexico, and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, hosted a spotlight forum Wednesday to bring attention to how the Republican budget bill’s proposed nearly $300 billion cuts to SNAP could impact communities nationwide.
“This would devastate availability of food to the most vulnerable, to working families across the country, children, parents, seniors, veterans. There’s just no question,” Luján said.
The forum included testimony from expert witnesses including Katy Anderson, the vice president of strategy, partnerships and advocacy at the Roadrunner Food Bank of New Mexico.
She said the cuts will directly impact 41 million people nationally and 450,000 New Mexicans.
“[SNAP] plays an important role in New Mexico, with 21% of the state’s residents relying on the program in order to ensure access to food,” Anderson said. “More than 61% of participants are in families with children. 31% are in families with members who are older adults or are disabled, and 43% are in working families. The vast majority of SNAP recipients in New Mexico and nationally, are children and seniors.”
She said states are not prepared to take more fiscal responsibility for providing nutritional support to their residents.
Anderson said under the current proposal, New Mexico would see a total annual cost increase to its budget of about $268 million, equivalent to 95 million meals.
“New Mexico food banks and our network of over 500 on the ground, committed hard working partner organizations, including nearly 200 churches, from larger population centers to the smallest of communities, cannot fill that hole,” she said.
He said the cuts proposed in the version of the budget bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives last month would represent a “shocking reversal” in a long-standing promise between the government and the American people.
“For the past 50 years, we have maintained a promise to the American people, regardless of which party is in power, no matter how hard times get or where you live, we will not let fellow Americans descend so far into poverty in the United States that there’s no program to prevent them from starving,” he said.
Luján said just because someone doesn’t directly benefit from SNAP doesn’t mean they won’t be impacted by the cuts.
Democrats say the cuts could harm farmers and ranchers as well as lead to grocery stores closing and expanded food deserts.
While the budget bill — also known as the One Big, Beautiful Bill — passed the U.S. House of Representatives in May, it is still making its way through the U.S. Senate.
President Donald Trump is urging Congress to get the bill to his desk before the Fourth of July.
However, not all Republican senators are on board with the legislation. Among those who have expressed concerns is Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, who published an op-ed in the New York Times last month opposing cuts to Medicaid funding.
NM attorney general and two manufacturers cap diabetes drug costs in settlements — Austin Fisher, Source New Mexico
Under settlement agreements reached earlier this year and announced by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez on Wednesday, two insulin manufacturers have committed to make the diabetes treatment cheaper for New Mexicans.
“These are huge wins for New Mexicans who have struggled with the outrageous cost of insulin,” Torrez said in a statement. “These agreements will help people stop rationing medication, avoid financial hardship, and focus on staying healthy. We are holding drug manufacturers accountable and making access to life-saving treatment more equitable.”
New Mexico Department of Justice spokesperson Lauren Rodriguez told Source NM that the agreements provide insured patients who might have a high deductible or copay the option to pay cash instead of using their insurance, and to pay no more than $35 for a monthly supply of insulin, Rodriguez said.
The New Mexico state law enacted in 2020 that caps insulin costs at $25 remains in full force and is not preempted or replaced by the new settlements, Rodriguez said.
Instead, the agreements are “additive protections mainly aimed at helping cash-paying and uninsured patients, while deferring to state law when it offers better pricing,” she said.
As many as 207,600 adults in New Mexico, or approximately 11% of the state’s adult population, have diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association.
Without the caps, patients in other states could pay $150 per month or more, especially if they require multiple variations of the drug, Stateline reports.
High out-of-pocket costs have historically forced many patients to choose between buying insulin and meeting other basic needs, NMDOJ said in a news release. The settlements result from the agency’s independent investigations into insulin pricing practices, NMDOJ said.
The state’s agreement with Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC, signed on April 18, requires the company to maintain its Insulins ValYou Savings Program, which allows patients who pay out-of-pocket to receive a month’s supply for $35.
The Sanofi settlement also requires it to maintain its Patient Connection Program, which allows uninsured patients who aren’t eligible for Medicaid and whose annual household income is at or below 400% of the federal poverty line to receive insulin for free.
Under the settlement, Sanofi must also provide patients live phone and translation support in Spanish, Hmong, Somali and Mandarin Chinese; and participating pharmacies will receive training to help patients enroll in affordability programs.
The settlement with Novo Nordisk Inc., signed on May 19, requires the company to maintain its MyInsulinRX Program, which offers diabetes patients the option to pay $35 or less for a monthly prescription. Under the agreement, Novo Nordisk must also continue its Patient Assistance Program, which offers insulin for free.
The settlement also requires Novo Nordisk to notify pharmacies about available discounts at the point of sale, help patients enroll on the spot and offer live phone and website chat support in Spanish.
Reporter Danielle Prokop contributed reporting to this story.
$40 Million awarded in lawsuit against Presbyterian for infant brain damage — Kevin Hendrick, NM.News
A couple was awarded more than $40 million in damages from a jury following a lawsuit claiming Presbyterian Healthcare Services staff did not properly identify a condition that subsequently caused brain damage to their young child.
A legal complaint filed by a couple alleged that Presbyterian hospital staff neglected to identify their newborn’s low blood sugar following the child’s April 2019 birth, causing lasting developmental problems.
The lawsuit said “Presbyterian physicians and health care providers involved in the initial treatment of [the child], breached the standard of care for monitoring and treating [the child], and therefore contributed to his injuries and permanent damage.”
Jurors awarded almost $25 million to the now six-year-old child, $15 million in punitive damages against Presbyterian and another $825,000 to the parents, Patrick and Samantha Leonard.
“The family has been heroic in working to help their child. This child’s needs, as he grows, will be very serious. The family is so appreciative to the jury that they listened and that justice was done,” Curtis & Co. Law Firm, which represented the family, said in a statement. “Presbyterian has over $5.5 Billion in assets. After this $40M verdict, it is greatly hoped that Presbyterian has the incentive to do a better job of caring for our children with systems that keep our children safe, so that no other child suffers this child’s fate.”
Court documents reveal that two doctors and two registered nurses acted with “reckless or wanton” conduct and Presbyterian Hospital breached its internal regulations, which mandate blood-sugar testing for all premature infants within their first 24 hours of life.
The baby was born prematurely at Presbyterian Hospital in April 2019 and suffered undetected low blood sugar due to high insulin levels. He was discharged after two days. Seven days later, the baby was readmitted with feeding issues and a fever. Eight days after birth, the baby’s brain shut down.
Court records show Presbyterian “failed to identify risks during the neonatal period of life and failed to appropriately monitor newborn blood glucose after delivery of a high-risk pregnancy, failed to perform glucose testing leaving hyperglycemia undiagnosed which later resulted in causing permanent brain damage.”
According to the lawsuit, the child “is suffering the long-term consequences of developmental delay/sensory disorder, abnormal vision and behavioral effects.”
““Presbyterian is committed to providing safe, high-quality care to our communities.
“While we respect the judicial process, we have serious concerns about this outcome and the unprecedented size of the damages awarded,” Presbyterian said in a statement. “We intend to pursue legal options to address what we consider to be an excessive judgment.”
A bill, SB 176, sponsored by Sen. Martin Hickey, D-Albuquerque, was introduced at the most recent legislative session that would have lowered the caps for payouts that attorneys receive for medical malpractice lawsuits. It died before being heard in a committee after facing opposition from trial lawyers and patients injured by medical malpractice.
Presbyterian was hit with another lawsuit earlier this year to a woman who had several complications after she had surgery in late 2019. She was award $17 million after a doctor’s negligence resulted in a 14-inch surgical instrument being left inside a patient’s abdomen. The patient unknowingly carried the tool for 58 days before undergoing further examination.
New Mexico appeals court rejects lawsuit against oil and gas regulators - By Morgan Lee, Associated Press
A New Mexico appeals court rejected a lawsuit alleging that the nation's No. 2 oil-producing state failed to meet constitutional provisions for protecting against oil and gas industry pollution, in an opinion Tuesday. Environmental advocates vowed to appeal the matter to the state's top court.
A panel of three judges on the New Mexico Court of Appeals found that it was beyond the judiciary's authority to weigh whether the pollution controls are adequate, writing that the state Constitution directs the Legislature to balance the benefits of environmental regulation with natural resources development.
The 2023 lawsuit from a coalition of environmental groups was the first to invoke the constitution's pollution-control clause, a 1971 amendment requiring that New Mexico prevent the contamination of air, water and other natural resources.
"While plaintiffs correctly observe that, as the 'Land of Enchantment,' the state's beauty is central to our identity, we cannot ignore the long history of permitting oil and gas extraction within our borders," the panel wrote, invoking the state motto. "If anything, the law, history, and tradition of our state demonstrates that resource extraction must be considered alongside, and must coexist with, pollution control legislation."
Gail Evans, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity and lead counsel on the case, said Tuesday's opinion would dismiss the case entirely if unchallenged and "displays a fundamental misunderstanding of our constitution and constitutional rights." She said plaintiffs intent to appeal to the state Supreme Court.
"Fifty years ago, New Mexico voted to amend the constitution and to provide protections from industry pollution and the court has found today that the amendment — the pollution control clause — is essentially meaningless, and that has to be wrong," Evans said.
The court challenge comes as New Mexico's state government rides a wave of record income from development in the Permian Basin, one of the world's most productive, oil-producing regions.
Oil-related revenue collections underwrite a considerable amount of the state's budget, including public education.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's administration is policing the industry with regulations that target methane and other emissions. But the Center for Biological Diversity and other groups say these efforts are not enough and that the state is failing to enforce existing pollution-control measures.
Attorneys for the Democratic-led Legislature and environmental regulators said the lawsuit threatened their constitutional authority.
Appeals Judge Katherine Wray issued an additional concurring opinion, expressing further limitations of the pollution control clause.
NM wildfire dispatch centers no longer face threat of closure, Heinrich says - Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
Two federal offices housing wildfire dispatch centers that coordinate the detection of and response to wildfires for much of New Mexico no longer face risk of lease cancellations, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) said Tuesday.
In early March, Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency listed two national forest supervisor’s offices in Albuquerque and Silver City among several hundred announced lease closures aimed at cutting federal spending.
The offices also housed interagency wildfire dispatch centers, which house equipment and personnel crucial to ensuring that small wildfire starts are quickly noticed and extinguished before they become larger.
A Source NM review of the online DOGE list of lease terminations showed that neither of the two offices remain on the list; nor do any other Forest Service offices nationwide. They appear to have been removed in the last week.
Heinrich questioned Agriculture Department Secretary Brooke Rollins about the centers recently during her testimony before a Senate committee. He confirmed Tuesday in a statement to Source New Mexico that the dispatch centers would remain open.
“I’m proud to announce that the Interagency Dispatch Centers in Albuquerque and Silver City will be staying open,” he said. “These centers are essential to help protect New Mexicans during wildfires, floods, and other emergencies. That’s why I called Secretary Rollins as soon as I heard that DOGE was planning to close them. Today, we put an end to DOGE’s reckless efforts.”
About 500 offices remain on the DOGE list, down from roughly 750 in early March, according to a Source NM review. Many, but not all, Agriculture Department offices have been removed from the list.
The dispatch centers monitor most of Central and Southwest New Mexico, a 45,000-square-mile area, and coordinate the deployment of people, vehicles and aircraft to suppress wildfires as quickly as possible.
Already this year, the dispatch center in Albuquerque has responded to 172 wildfires in its coverage area, and the one in Silver City has responded to 64, according to dispatch center data.
The threatened closure of the Silver City Dispatch Center, in particular, alarmed some in the area because it was unclear where another dispatch center could go in the rural area. The dispatch center, which oversees the Gila National Forest, is in the epicenter of where national forecasters warn wildfire risk is highest this season.
A spokesperson for the General Services Administration, which manages federal leases, referred comment to the Agriculture Department. Spokespeople for the national forests where the offices are housed did not respond to Source’s request for comment Tuesday.
The removals occur as Musk departs the White House.
Heinrich’s statement did not provide more details on why most other Forest Service offices nationwide no longer appear on the DOGE list, but he noted how important the ones in New Mexico are to preventing disasters.
“The Interagency Dispatch Centers help get resources – like airtankers from Kirtland Air Force Base—to where they’re needed, and fast. As fire seasons get longer and more dangerous, and post-fire floods continue to threaten our communities, I’ll keep fighting to make sure our firefighters and emergency crews have the tools they need to keep our communities safe,” he said.
The DOGE list said ending the two New Mexico leases would save taxpayers about $1 million a year.
Dry most of the year, the lower Rio Grande flows for irrigation season - Algernon D'Ammassa, Albuquerque Journal
The lower Rio Grande is flowing through Doña Ana County once more, following the annual release of river waters captured at the Caballo Lake reservoir, south of Truth or Consequences.
Since the release last Friday, the water has pushed south, pulling debris and sediment from riverbeds that sit dry for a majority of the year as climate change intensifies and long-term drought makes for shorter, drier irrigation seasons .
In Las Cruces, people have gathered daily in vacant areas and a city park at the riverside to enjoy the rushing water that will nourish diversions for regional agriculture as it makes its way to Texas and Mexico.
On Tuesday afternoon, on a passage near city limits, a lone kayaker drifted as idly as a reed on the river’s surface.
The Elephant Butte Irrigation District set the 2025 irrigation season’s allotment from the river at 6 inches per acre at its May 14 meeting, and released water from the Caballo reservoir on May 30. The district anticipated deliveries of water to farms to begin this week once systems are flushed and primed.
In the first days since the release, suds and spongy masses were prominent on the surface — a normal phenomenon, said Gary Esslinger, EBID’s manager-adviser.
“The foam, as I understand, is made up of nutrients, some traces of vertebrae, bacteria and organic material left in the sand and co-mingled in a unique blend of suds that seem to get stimulated each irrigation season when the initial release is made from Caballo and the water from the reservoir is introduced to the dry riverbed,” Esslinger said.
Following EBID’s schedule, the river will flow for approximately 90 days before being choked off once more.
Albuquerque ends THC-lookalike sales - Jesse Jones, nm.news
The Albuquerque City Council voted 7-to-2 Monday night to ban the sale of synthetic THC-lookalike products, calling them a health risk and saying there’s no solid oversight.
The June 2 vote makes Albuquerque the first city in New Mexico to outlaw, making or selling hemp-based cannabinoids like Delta-8 and THC-A. Supporters say the move shuts down a legal loophole and keeps kids safe from unregulated products that often look like candy or wellness items. Critics argue it’s prohibition, hurting small businesses and people who use hemp as a milder alternative to marijuana. They also warn it could fuel a black market.
Now the big question is what happens next — will the mayor sign it and how will the city enforce it?
“This is a product that’s not regulated by the state, and it’s really poison, and it’s being sold to children,” Councilor Dan Lewis said.
Since 2022, New Mexicans have spent about $1 billion on legal, THC-containing cannabis after lawmakers and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham opened the market for adult use.
But the state’s underground marijuana trade is thriving. According to a KRQE investigation by Larry Barker, one industry expert estimated New Mexico’s black market tops $200 million a year, fueled in part by unlicensed marijuana lookalikes sold in gas stations and convenience stores.
“[Barker] did a really good job of explaining the product that’s sold in retail convenience stores around Albuquerque, it’s really marketed for children, it’s put in packages,” Lewis said. “It’s a synthetic product that oftentimes has a THC level that you’d find in other marijuana products that are regulated by the state.”
Cannabis and hemp may look the same, but they’re chemically different — hemp doesn’t get people high.
Products like Delta-8, Delta-10 and THC-A are made by altering hemp to boost its THC levels above the legal 0.3%. The ordinance says these products take advantage of a “derivatives loophole” in federal law, which allows hemp-derived cannabinoids with low Delta-9 THC but doesn’t regulate their conversion into intoxicating forms.
Lewis said the ordinance came in response to concerns from industry members and residents who urged the city to take action. He said the goal was to target the specific issue without interfering with the broader cannabis or hemp industries.
The ordinance focuses on retail sales, not personal use or possession, and aims to stop the sale of high-dose synthetic hemp products that often end up in gas stations and convenience stores with no age limits and kid-friendly packaging.
“If your business model is to market that high-dose and put it into the hands of retail, convenience stores, gas stations, and sell it to children and package it in a way where children could buy it, then that’s exactly what this bill has to do with,” Lewis said. “In fact, it doesn’t have any to do with the manufacturing of this product whatsoever.”
He called the products “poison” and pointed to the KRQE investigation showing how common they’ve become in Albuquerque.
Arguments for and against
Supporters of the ordinance backed Councilor Lewis’ concerns, saying unregulated hemp-derived products pose serious health risks, especially to kids. They’re often sold at gas stations with no age restrictions and packaged to look like candy.
“Having undefined chemicals in the marketplace with unknown safety profiles is a risk to not just children but everyone,” said Charles Villanueva, a chemist in the hemp industry.
Kimberly Sanchez Rael, president and CEO of SRE Wellness, a licensed hemp manufacturer in Albuquerque, also supported the ban. She said the 2018 Farm Bill wasn’t meant to open the door to high-dose intoxicating products. “I don’t believe congressional intent was ever to unleash these kinds of products into the channels they’re now in,” she said, adding that the ordinance is a needed step to rein things in locally.
While an update to the Farm Bill is expected to address how hemp is defined and regulated, supporters of the ordinance said Albuquerque couldn’t afford to wait.
The proposed federal changes would either ban these products or move them under existing state cannabis rules. Some hemp industry leaders also backed the city’s move, calling it a necessary step to protect public safety.
Critics say the ordinance will cost jobs, harm small businesses and eliminate products relied on by seniors, veterans and patients. They argue the hemp industry is already regulated and fear a growing black market.
Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn and Council President Brook Bassan were the two councilors who voted against the ordinance.
Fiebelkorn said she supports stronger rules to keep intoxicating hemp products away from kids, but pushed back on how the ordinance was being described and true regulation would involve setting rules like age limits or labeling requirements, not banning the sale outright.
“I just keep hearing that we want to regulate this industry, which I agree with,” she said. “But this is not a regulation — this is a prohibition on a product.”
Bassan said she supports keeping intoxicating hemp products away from kids but raised concerns about how the ordinance would be enforced.
“I absolutely want to keep children safe,” she said. “I’m concerned about the cart before the horse.”
Bassan questioned whether city departments have the resources and plans in place to inspect hemp businesses and test products. “Are they going to go into every hemp business in Albuquerque?” she asked.
She also asked how inspectors would know if a product exceeds the 0.3% THC threshold and how much it would cost the city to test products at outside labs, since the current crime lab lacks the necessary capabilities.
Chief Administrative Officer Samantha Sengel said both Environmental Health and APD are still developing protocols, and that outside labs would likely be needed for testing.
Sengel said the Environmental Health Department is concerned about having the capacity to take on more businesses without knowing how many there will be.
“I think everyone is still in the fact-finding stage to figure out the impact,” she said, adding the administration would return to the council for funding if needed to carry out enforcement.
Lewis said the ordinance lays out clear requirements for signage and citations. “The same thing, if there was someone selling cocaine out of a gas station,” he said.
The city’s not sending officers to every store, Lewis said, but they’ll step in when there’s a complaint.
Still, Bassan pushed back.
“It’s not very clear to me,” she said. “There’s a whole bunch of gray areas. I’m concerned that while this is maybe really good intentioned, we’re going to end up having a potential to have to come back, as we have many other times, and have to retract the same thing that’s getting passed with good intention.”
City Desk ABQ reached out to the mayor’s office for comment on the ordinance banning sales of intoxicating hemp products.
“Preventing these products from being sold to kids is important, and we support that goal,” said Jeremy Dyer, marketing manager for the Environmental Health Department. “We still have questions about how enforcement will work, so we are evaluating.”
Mayor Tim Keller is reviewing the legislation and has up to 10 days to decide whether to sign or veto it.
New Mexico health officials report measles exposures in San Juan, Lea county hospitals- Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
The New Mexico Department of Health on Tuesday reported multiple measles exposures at hospitals in opposite corners of the state last week, including the first case recorded in San Juan County.
The state’s largest outbreak in more than 50 years now includes 81 cases, with more than 80% in Lea County, just across the state line from Gaines County, Texas, where the outbreak began. Since mid-February, health officials have recorded measles infections in seven counties: Lea, Eddy, Chaves, Curry, Doña Ana, Sandoval and now, San Juan.
The San Juan County case was a child under 4 years old, who had one dose of the measles vaccine, and contracted the infection on a domestic flight.
“Travel can increase the risk of exposure,” said NMDOH Chief Medical Officer Dr. Miranda Durham in a written statement. “Whether you’re traveling within the U.S. or abroad, before you go make sure you’re up to date on your vaccines.”
The Farmington exposures occurred at the on the following days and times:
- 10:30 p.m.-4:15 a.m. Monday, May 26 and Tuesday May 27: emergency room of the San Juan Regional Medical Center at 801 West Maple Street.
- 2- 4 p.m.: Wednesday, May 28: emergency room of the San Juan Regional Medical Center at 801 West Maple Street.
- 8:15-10:30 a.m. on Friday, May 30: San Juan Regional Medical Center Health Partners Pediatrics Clinic, 407 South Schwartz, Suite 102
In the state’s Southeast corner, an adult with an unknown vaccination status potentially exposed others in an Hobbs at the following location:
- 8:45 – 11:30 a.m on Tuesday, May 27: NorLea Hobbs Medical Clinic,1923 North Dal Paso Street.
Measles symptoms are generally milder in people with a vaccine, according to the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and vaccination decrease the risk of spreading it to other people.
Measles symptoms develop between one to three weeks after exposure. Symptoms usually start with fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes, followed by the spotty red rash on the head that spreads across the body. People can pass measles to someone several days before and after the rash appears.
NMDOH urges anyone with measles symptoms to stay home to prevent further spread and call the NMDOH Helpline at 1-833-796-8773 for further information in English or Spanish about symptoms, testing or vaccines.
Health officials said the best prevention is two doses of the vaccines, which are offered at no cost at 19 public health clinic offices around the state. Clinic locations can be found on the state’s measles webpage.
Fugitive sentenced to life for killing his wife near Alamogordo Algernon D’Ammassa, Albuquerque Journal
An Arkansas man has been sentenced to life in prison for killing his wife near a state park south of Alamogordo in 2024.
Shaun LeFleur, 57, was convicted by an Otero County jury of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence, for burying her body, on May 23.
New Mexico State Police were approached by an unidentified witness on April 21, 2024, who said he found LeFleur digging a shallow grave for his wife, Nancy, 67. According to court filings, the couple had been camping unlawfully near Oliver Lee State Park.
Police came across the grave site and found Nancy LeFleur’s body wrapped in a tarp. The witness said Shaun LeFleur had confessed to shooting his wife execution-style after an argument, ordering her onto her knees before firing on her. An autopsy determined she died of three gunshot wounds to the head from a .22 caliber handgun.
LeFleur was later traced to the Cloudcroft area and taken into custody on charges of first-degree murder and felony tampering with evidence.
In seeking LaFleur’s detention ahead of trial, prosecutors presented evidence that LaFleur had a criminal history in 11 states and active arrest warrants in four, including New Mexico.
District Attorney Ryan Suggs' office described LeFleur as a Louisiana man in a news release, but his driver’s license at the time of his arrest was from Arkansas. The LeFleurs arrived in Otero County late in 2023, according to the DA's office, describing Shaun LeFleur as a fugitive from justice dragging his wife along.
LeFleur was convicted in Otero County Magistrate Court in September 2024 of battering Nancy LeFleur over a 2023 incident. That conviction came after his wife had been dead for five months.
The jury in the murder case convicted LeFleur following a four-day trial, per court records. Prosecutors dropped a third count of possession of a firearm by a felon.
State District Judge John P. Sugg followed the verdict with a sentence requiring LeFleur to serve his life sentence after serving the maximum sentence for the tampering charge, meaning he would be nearly 90 years old, at the earliest, before becoming eligible for parole.
According to the DA, Sugg remarked in court, "I don’t think you will live that long, you will die in the New Mexico Department of Corrections."