Local leaders break ground on $38 million West Central affordable housing project — Gillian Barkhurst, Albuquerque Journal
Local government and business leaders ceremonially broke ground on a $38 million affordable housing project a block off West Central on Thursday.
Over the next year, construction crews will renovate defunct public housing off West Central and 60th NW and build additional units, ultimately providing 88 new or refurbished apartments for low-income families.
Thursday’s celebration brought together leaders from nonprofits, the private sector and local government, including Bernalillo County Commissioner Barbara Baca.
“This is my home,” Baca said. “I went to John Adams Middle School and West Mesa High School. So welcome, and I'm so excited for this housing project to be moving forward.”
The project, called Casitas del Camino, combined millions in federal, state, city and county government funds in an attempt to address what politicians and activists have called a housing crisis.
According to a 2024 study, Albuquerque is lacking approximately 22,000 affordable units for low-income renters.
Casitas del Camino will provide what Linda Bridge, executive director of the Albuquerque Housing Authority, called “truly affordable” housing for families.
Families who make 60% of the area median income (AMI) or less are eligible to live at
Casitas del Camino. That amounts to a maximum of $49,000 a year for a family of three.
Forty-four units will be reserved for families earning 60% AMI or less, while 17 units are limited to families making 50% AMI or less. Twenty-seven units will be for the lowest-income residents who make 30% AMI or less. That’s approximately $24,700 a year for a family of three.
The site will also include a playground, basketball court and community building.
Mayor Tim Keller congratulated the housing authority on the project, saying that, once built, the apartments will bring much-needed stability to the lives of local children.
“These kids are going to grow up in a home, instead of going from hotel to hotel or instead of going from apartment to apartment on short-term leases,” Keller said. “They're going to have a place that they come home to year after year.”
The project is expected to finish construction in about a year, Bridge said, after which prospective tenants can apply through the housing authority.
Gillian Barkhurst is the local government reporter for the Journal. She can be reached at gbarkhurst@abqjournal.com.
Otero County extends federal immigrant detention contract again after first attempt deemed illegal
Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
The Otero County Commission on Wednesday evening voted again to extend a federal immigrant detention contract. The vote came after the New Mexico Department of Justice determined its attempt earlier this month violated a state transparency law.
Source New Mexico reports the unanimous vote seeks to prolong the county’s arrangement with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and private prison operator MTC that allows ICE to house detainees at the Otero County Processing Center in Chaparral. A new state law, House Bill 9, goes into effect in May banning such arrangements.
The Wednesday meeting was an attempt to address violations the state Department of Justice identified as a result of the contract extension commissioners enacted March 13 after a hastily scheduled emergency meeting. The NMDOJ determined that the commission had violated the state Open Meetings Act, which rendered the contract invalid.
County officials have said they need to maintain the contract to pay off more than $60 million in revenue bonds the county sold to build the facility in 2007. They also say the facility’s closure will result in 230 lost jobs, as well as other harms to the county and its residents.
Just before the vote Wednesday, County Attorney RB Nichols reiterated his defense of the emergency meeting and criticized the Legislature for what he said was “indifference” in passing HB9 without providing the county a path forward.
NM attorney general joins lawsuit against feds over rule changes for nutrition program
Joshua Bowling, Source New Mexico
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez this week joined a coalition of AGs across the nation in suing the U.S. Department of Agriculture over its allegedly “unconstitutional and unlawful” requirements that states receiving funding for two key food assistance programs cannot, in the words of the policy, “promote gender ideology” or quote, help “illegal aliens to obtain taxpayer-funded benefits.”
The lawsuit alleges that the USDA implemented new rules late last year for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, along with its supplemental program for Women, Infants and Children, which require states to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive orders and to cease all Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives.
Among other points, the AGs argue that the USDA’s new rules are exceedingly vague and require funding recipients to comply with “federal anti-discrimination laws, regulations, and policies,” but neglect to specify the policies in question.
Moreover, the attorneys general from 20 states and Washington, D.C. allege that the new rules force states to choose between feeding vulnerable populations and capitulating to the federal government’s demand for “sweeping changes” to state policies.