Federal prosecutors score first wins on NM border trespass cases - Colleen Heild, Albuquerque Journal
On Thursday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Mexico announced the defendants had pleaded guilty to all three misdemeanors.
The first two migrants convicted of trespassing into the so-called New Mexico National Defense Area this month should have known better.
The two Mexican nationals had previously faced the same “novel” immigration-related trespassing charges just a month ago when they illegally crossed into the U.S. and were arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol in Doña Ana County.
But like dozens of others caught in the Trump administration’s new southern border enforcement crackdown, their misdemeanor trespassing charges didn’t stick because of legal issues.
So Eduardo Herrera-Juvencio and Andres De Los Santos-Martinez ended up being released from custody and deported back to Mexico, only to illegally cross into the same New Mexico military zone, west of the Santa Teresa port of entry, on June 1.
This time, the defendants’ prior prosecutions meant that they had been forewarned, making it more difficult to argue they didn’t know they had stepped into the 60-foot-wide buffer zone, which was designated as a military property in mid-April. The U.S. Army assumed authority over a 170-mile-long buffer zone adjacent to the U.S.-Mexico border in New Mexico. A similar zone was created for a 63-mile-long strip in West Texas.
Federal authorities charged the two men with reentry after deportation and the military trespass charges, which carry additional potential prison time of up to a year.
On Thursday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Mexico announced the defendants had pleaded guilty to all three misdemeanors.
“These first convictions reflect the resolve of the United States Attorney’s Office to do its part in securing our nation’s southern border,” U.S. Attorney for New Mexico Ryan Ellison said in a statement. “I am tremendously proud of our staff in the Las Cruces branch office, the U.S. Border Patrol and the U.S. military for their relentless efforts to secure our southern border. New Mexico — and the entire country — is more secure because of these efforts.”
The men’s federal public defenders couldn’t be reached, and it wasn’t clear from court records on Thursday when they will be sentenced.
Over recent weeks, federal defense attorneys have argued that such prosecutions are flawed because of legal issues over whether migrants knew of the military restriction and whether federal prosecutors had probable cause to charge them.
The rollout of the new federal enforcement strategy on the border has also faced pushback from several U.S. magistrate judges, who have found the military trespass charges defective.
That includes Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Gregory Wormuth of Las Cruces, who in mid-May began to dismiss such charges in nearly 100 cases where defendants had also been charged with illegal entry, typically a first-time offense. Both De Los Santos-Martinez and Herrera-Juvencio had their military trespass charges dismissed at that time.
In El Paso, in the first trial in such a case, a federal court jury on June 5 acquitted a Peruvian woman of the military trespass charges. But this week, an El Paso federal district court judge found an Ecuadorian man guilty of the trespass charge along with illegal entry.
Since facing scrutiny over whether migrants are adequately warned they are entering a military defense zone on the border, charging documents give greater detail about where the defendant was caught and note that 1,100 warning signs are posted every 100 to 200 meters in the zone in Spanish and English.
In Herrera-Juvencio’s case, he had already walked through the defense area before he was captured 1,423 yards north of the international border, court records show. By that time, he was more than three-fourths of a mile from a posted sign, the records show.
His criminal complaint states that after his first arrest on May 7, the U.S. Border Patrol provided him with a written notice in Spanish that any unauthorized entry into the restricted military area was prohibited and subject to federal prosecution. De Los Santos-Martinez also received the same notice after his first arrest, records state. Both men also pleaded guilty to re-entry after deportation.
New Mexico early childhood agency launches summer food program - Austin Fisher, Source New Mexico
Young people and some adults with disabilities in New Mexico can receive free food this summer at hundreds of sites across the state.
The state Early Childhood Education and Care Department last week launched its statewide Summer Food Service Program, which offers free, nutritious meals to children while on break from school and to adults who are enrolled in school programs for people with disabilities.
Through August, more than 500 meal sites are providing food on a first-come, first-served basis. Sites and hours can be found on this map, or by calling 1-800-EAT-COOL (1-800-328-2665).
In a statement, department Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky invited every New Mexico family to take advantage of the program.
“Nutritious meals are essential for children to thrive, and no child should go without food just because school is out,” Groginsky said. “This program is one simple, effective way families can support their children’s health this summer — in a fun and social environment too.”
The agency said in a news release it expects to serve approximately 17,000 children and 750,000 meals this summer. Last year, it served 16,565 children and 720,603 meals, according to the release.
Hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans, including one in four children, are food insecure, according to data from 2022 compiled by the nonprofit food bank network Feeding America. Counties with the highest rates of food insecurity include McKinley, Luna, Sierra, Socorro and Catron.
The state Public Education Department also runs an alternative summer food program called the Seamless Summer Option, whose meal sites are also shown on the map linked above. PED also oversees SUN Bucks, for which some families are automatically eligible to receive $120 in food benefits per child.
Starting next month, some Summer Food Service Program meal sites will make food using locally grown ingredients under a pilot based on the department’s New Mexico Grown grant program.
These programs are funded by the country’s major federal food assistance program called Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. A proposal going through the U.S. Congress could result in states shouldering some SNAP costs starting in 2028.
2 men get life sentences in shooting death of 11-year-old outside stadium that prompted gun ban - Associated Press
Two men were sentenced Wednesday to lifelong terms in prison in the shooting death of an 11-year-old boy outside an Albuquerque baseball stadium in 2023 that prompted the New Mexico governor to issue a controversial gun ban, the district attorney's office in Albuquerque said.
Investigators say a truck carrying a mother and three young children was mistaken for another vehicle in the shooting as vehicles were leaving the stadium. Gunfire killed 11-year-old Froylan Villegas and paralyzed cousin Tatiana Villegas, while Foylan's mother and baby brother were unharmed.
A jury in February convicted Jose Romero and Nathen Garley, both in their early 20s, of first-degree murder, tampering with evidence, shooting at or from a vehicle and other charges in the death of Villegas.
The men were sentenced to life in prison plus 46 years, ensuring they will stay under Corrections Department custody permanently, prosecutors said.
In the aftermath of the shooting and others that killed children, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham declared a public health emergency over gun violence, temporarily suspending the right to carry guns in some parks and playgrounds in the greater Albuquerque area. The decision touched off protests and legal challenges by advocates for gun rights.
District Attorney Sam Bregman, a Democratic candidate for governor in 2026, said in a statement that the shootings "shook our entire community" and praised his staff for pursuing accountability.
A Safe place to heal; Inside Albuquerque’s new medical respite program for the unhoused - Jesse Jones, nm.news
Mayor Tim Keller joined staff and a patient June 18 for a small-group conversation highlighting the early impact of the Gateway Medical Respite Center.
Tucked inside the former Lovelace Hospital, the 50-bed facility offers 24/7 medical care, housing help and support services for people recovering from illness or surgery while experiencing homelessness. It’s part of a broader push to rethink how Albuquerque responds to homelessness. City leaders hope the center becomes a model for other communities.
One of the first patients to stay at the Medical Respite Center, a man named James, shared how the program changed his life. After developing a serious ankle infection, he didn’t know how he’d recover while living in a rundown trailer. Now, resting in a private room at the new facility, James said the care and support he’s received have been “more than I deserve.”
“I couldn’t ask for more,” he said. “It’s a great place for me to recover. I have all the help I need to recover. And it’s a wonderful place, clean and safe and I couldn’t ask for more.”
THE BIGGER VISION
James’ story is just one example of why the Gateway Medical Respite Center is important to the city. More than a shelter, the facility fills a critical gap in care for people recovering from illness or injury without a safe place to heal.
It’s also part of something much bigger. The center is one piece of the city’s broader “Gateway” endeavor — a growing network of services designed to create a more coordinated, city-backed system for addressing homelessness. With around-the-clock care and support services, the respite program helps patients stabilize and take steps toward housing.
“The idea with medical respite is you can recover here under medical supervision and also that gives you time, most importantly, so that we can figure out the long-term answer of some sort of housing and so forth,” said Mayor Tim Keller. “It’s something we’ve needed for several decades.”
Keller said the city had to build its homelessness response system from the ground up because it had never taken an active role before. For years, it depended entirely on groups like Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless, along with other nonprofits and faith organizations. But he said that approach became outdated as Albuquerque grew.
The Gateway System is the city’s long-term effort to create its own network of services while still working with trusted local partners. Four sites are now open: Recovery Gateway, Family Gateway, Gateway West and the Gateway Center, which Keller described as the “hub” in a hub-and-spoke system.
One issue people raised again and again was medical care, Keller said.
“If you didn’t have a good place to live, or in some cases, if you were even living on the street, and then you had a medical issue, where do you go after?” he said. “It’s not safe to go out on the street.”
“That’s the idea,” Keller said. “The city builds the facility, but we don’t pretend to be the experts.”
He said that’s why Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless, a longtime local provider, runs the medical respite center. Keller introduced Gail Starr, the center’s program operations manager and full-time nurse and Kate Morton, chief clinical officer for the organization, as experienced partners in the work.
That partnership is already making a real difference.
At the center, patients like James don’t just get a place to rest — they get coordinated care that helps them heal and get back on their feet. With a full-time nurse, regular doctor visits and access to extra support services, the respite program gives people a chance to move forward instead of slipping through the cracks.
A PATIENTS STORY
James said Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless supports people as they transition back into society and helps them find housing. The staff, including his nurse, Starr, has been wonderful in helping him recover.
“My foot actually started bothering me a little bit, and I was in enough pain that I couldn’t take myself to the hospital,” James said. “Once I arrived, I found out that I had a huge infection in my ankle.”
He said that within a week, he learned about the respite center and was brought there. “Somewhat to my surprise, I just love it here. It’s a great place for me to recover. I get all the help I need, and it’s clean and safe.”
“Well, the friendliness and the want to help me recover was fantastic,” James said. “I was impressed by how clean and nice this place is — I have a bathroom right here in my room — it’s been wonderful. I couldn’t have imagined that there’d be a place like this that was available to me.”
He added, “ I was really awestruck, but I’ve received nothing but kindness and care more than I deserve. But they’re a wonderful group of people that operate this facility and our medications are right there at hand, everything that we need. We’re fed, we’re, we can get clean, and we’re taken to our hospital appointments, our doctor’s appointments. It’s just been fantastic.”
James said transitioning out of homelessness would have been impossible without the support he’s received at the respite center.
“I’m certain I couldn’t do it on my own,” he said. “I was in a situation I absolutely can’t go back to. Being on the streets — it’s a crying shame that we’d have to do that here in America.”
When asked what advice he’d give others in similar situations, James didn’t hesitate.
“Get here,” he said. “If you really need it, this is the place to be — bar none. I am ever so thankful that it’s here. So please, if you need help, find out where we are. It will be available.”
THE COLLABORATIVE APPROACH
James’s experience shows how vital the medical respite center is for people facing tough health challenges without stable housing.
“This has been eight years in the making,” Morton said. “It’s just been a really wonderful experience to see people like James and others get the help that they need and be able to be a small part of that.”
The medical respite center runs on more than just city support — it thrives because of strong partnerships.
Operated by Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless, the center works closely with groups like the University of New Mexico Hospital, First Nations Community Healthsource and Heading Home to connect patients with care and stability. Starr and Morton, who both call this their “dream job,” shared how the program came together.
Starr said that teamwork is at the heart of everything they do. From walkable access to addiction treatment services to on-site medical and mental health care, the goal is to meet people where they are — and help them move forward.
“The goal is really per patient,” said Starr. “So many of our patients are very different.”
She shared a recent moment with one patient. “One just told me he’s going to leave and he’s so grateful for the time he came here. ‘I couldn’t even think about what to do next,’ he said. ‘This has given me a safe place.’ He almost started crying and now he has a goal.”
Helping patients goes far beyond medical care.
“We have our housing navigators come in to help patients,” said Starr.
Starr said staff use a tool called the VI-SPDAT, or Vulnerability Index – Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool, to determine who needs help most and what type of housing or support is the best fit.
Patient advocates help people recover essential documents like IDs, Social Security cards and Medicaid.
Public benefits specialists also step in to connect patients with support programs. Starr said most of this work happens behind the scenes, but it’s what makes long-term success possible. Now that the center has been running for a while, some patients, like James, are beginning to move on with plans in place.
TRACKING IMPACT AND LOOKING AHEAD
The center is still growing — currently, it serves about 20 patients with the goal to help 320 to 400 annually.
“There’s some turnover—people stay for a while, some leave on their own, and some have been housed,” Starr said. “We just reached 20, so it’s growing slowly, but we’re getting there.”
Asked if 50 beds are enough to meet the city’s homelessness and healthcare needs, Starr said, “There’s always room for more, but this is a good start.”
The respite center is part of a five-year pilot program that limits referrals to a core group of partners — UNMH, Health Care for the Homeless and First Nations — to allow detailed outcome tracking and evaluation. Once the pilot phase ends, there are plans to assess results and potentially expand referrals.
“We have a detailed plan to track outcomes and make adjustments as needed. After that, we hope this model can be replicated elsewhere in the state.”
“We have to use this facility and fill it up,” Keller said. “We want every James who is looking for help to know and find help here. But to do that, it takes continued partnership, and it also takes funding. It takes council support, and it takes county and city and state support. We had that for construction, but now we’ve got to run it.”
He added, “I think this is a good example of how powerful it can be when we actually just go full in. We needed the entire system of care, and now we’ve built it and some of it’s opening and it’s making a difference.”
How to get help:
Housing and Treatment Navigation Center at Gateway
For questions or assistance, contact the operator, Heading Home, at 505-537-8588.
Refer a Client: Guests are accepted into the Gateway Center by service provider referral only.
If you need to make a referral, please contact a local homeless service provider.
Resources for People Experiencing Homelessness
- 2024 Resource Card: View a comprehensive list of local services for housing, food, showers, clothing, and more.
- New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness: Visit nmceh.org
- Homeless Help Line:
- Call: 505-768-HELP (4357)
- Text: 505-600-2835
- Email: 768-help@nmceh.org
Health Care Services
Funded fully or in part by the City of Albuquerque.
Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless
- Address: 1217 1st NW
- Phone: General – 505-766-5197
- Behavioral Health – 505-242-4644
- Dental Clinic – 505-242-8288
- Medical Clinic – 505-242-4644
- Fax: 505-766-6945
- Website
First Nations Community Healthsource
- Address: 6416 Zuni SE
- Phone: 505-262-2481
- Website
Child Care Services
Cuidando Los Niños
- Offers case management, day care, and Early Head Start programs
- Address: 1500 Walter SE
- Phone: 505-843-6899
- Fax: 505-764-8296
- Website
Landlord Resources
The Landlord Engagement Program (LEP) helps landlords with financial incentives to support successful tenancies for permanent supportive housing voucher holders.
- Benefits include up to $3,000 for damages, $1,000 for improvements, $500 for start-up costs, and one month of vacancy loss coverage.
- Contact LEP at:
- Phone: 505-225-3491
- Email: LEP@nmceh.org
- More info at NMCEH
City Health, Housing & Homelessness Department
- Contact: Evangeline, Office Administration
- Phone: 505-768-2860 or dial 311 (505-768-2000)
- Fax: 505-768-3204
- Email: hhh@cabq.gov
- Physical Address: 400 Marquette NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102
- Mailing Address: PO Box 1293, Albuquerque, NM 87103