NMDOJ seeks records related to federal drug agents’ fentanyl investigations in NM
—Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
The New Mexico Department of Justice on Thursday announced it was demanding a wide array of records related to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s fentanyl investigations in New Mexico between 2022 and 2025. That’s the time period during which allegations have been made agents allowed large quantities of the drug to enter communities without seizing them.
NMDOJ officials said the records request New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez sent Wednesday to acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and acting DEA Administrator Robert Murphy marks an “important formal step” in the investigation Torrez announced June 26 following a request for one by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
“The people of New Mexico deserve a full accounting of the decisions that allowed deadly fentanyl to reach our communities,” Torrez said in a statement. “This records request is an important step in our investigation to determine what occurred, whether federal policies were followed, and whether anyone should be held accountable.”
The five-page demand for materials seeks the DEA’s policies, investigative reports, communications between agents and prosecutors, court filings, whistleblower complaints and an array of other materials that could shed light on an operation that the NMDOJ said allowed millions of pills to flow un-seized through Albuquerque and other New Mexico communities.
The letter urges the federal agencies to produce the records by July 31 or, barring that, to produce a timeline by which it would provide them that reflects the “urgency and gravity of this matter.”
In statements to the Albuquerque Journal and Associated Press, which first reported on the DEA’s practice and a 2023 whistleblower complaint, the DEA has said its decisions were lawful and consistent with department guidance, and the administration defended the practice by saying agents allowed fentanyl to enter communities in hopes of catching high-level dealers and suppliers further down the line.
The revelations have prompted swift outcries from local, state and federal elected officials, as well as calls for congressional and other investigations. The officials have noted New Mexico has ongoing struggles with opioid addiction and overdoses. Lujan Grisham and other state officials on Monday called for the state to receive restitution from the federal government over the alleged activity.
The state’s drug overdose death rate has been one of the highest in the nation for most of the last two decades, and has more than tripled since 1990.
In such an environment, Torrez said in the statement that the NMDOJ expects the federal government to “cooperate fully so we can establish the facts and provide New Mexicans the answers they deserve.”
New Mexico regulators order Blackstone, TXNM to unwind $400 million stock sale
—Juston Horwath, Albuquerque Journal
New Mexico regulators on Thursday moved to unravel a $400 million stock sale that gave Blackstone Inc. a foothold in the state’s largest electric utility, ruling that the transaction should have gone through a review process it never received.
The three-member New Mexico Public Regulation Commission voted 2-1 on the order, siding with hearing examiners who recommended in early June that commissioners reverse the sale of 8 million shares of TXNM Energy Inc. stock to Blackstone. The sale gave the private equity firm a 7.59% stake in TXNM.
The companies must show within 45 days that they are complying with the order. The order includes $100,000 in fines against TXNM and $200,000 against Blackstone affiliates.
The vote is a major setback for Blackstone’s efforts to acquire TXNM, which is the parent company of Public Service Company of New Mexico. The commission did not ask Blackstone and TXNM to refile their acquisition application itself, as some parties had requested.
Instead, the commission late Thursday published an order that alters the procedural schedule of the case, which was set to begin in mid-August.
New Energy Economy Executive Director Mariel Nanasi, an intervenor in the case, said the order cancels hearings tied to that schedule, meaning that the commission will likely not be able to decide on the case by the end of the year.
“Another huge victory today — and possibly the nail in the coffin” for the deal, she said.
The hearing examiners in their June report said the transaction violated a law prohibiting utility mergers without prior approval from the PRC. TXNM and Blackstone argued the stock sale was not connected to the proposed $11.5 billion sale of the energy-holding company, which was filed with state regulators in August.
Neither Blackstone nor TXNM answered whether they would proceed with the acquisition or how they would unwind the stock transaction. Blackstone declined to comment. A TXNM spokesperson said the company is evaluating its options.
“It is important to us that our customers know that the stock issuance was completed in good faith, publicly disclosed well in advance and undertaken with no intent to circumvent any rules or regulatory requirements,” TXNM spokesperson Lisa Goodman said.
In a statement, the commission said parties will have a chance to comment on the compliance filing before determining “the appropriate procedural path for the acquisition case.”
Commissioners Pat O’Connell and Gabriel Aguilera voted in favor of enforcing the hearing examiners’ recommended decision.
Greg Nibert voted against the proposal, saying that requiring the companies to unwind the stock sale will harm TXNM’s finances — and by extension more than half a million ratepayers in the state.
But Nibert’s argument did not prevail.
“You’ve got to follow the law or else the regulatory compact doesn’t work,” O’Connell said.
Don Tarry, president and CEO of TXNM, in June testified to the commission that TXNM has already used the $400 million in proceeds from the stock sale.
“Specifically, among other things, this funding was used to pay down TXNM debt (and) to provide equity contributions and term loans” for PNM and Texas-New Mexico Power Co., Tarry said.
Albuquerque nonprofit Prosperity Works filed a motion earlier this year saying the stock transaction violated New Mexico law, triggering a review of the issue by the commission.
Steven Michel, a Santa Fe lawyer who represented the nonprofit before the commission, pointed to a $350 million termination fee baked into the agreement that requires Blackstone to pay TXNM that amount under certain circumstances.
“They’ve never not been able to raise capital,” he said when asked about concerns that unwinding the sale will harm TXNM’s credit.
Dozens of protestors who oppose the proposed sale gathered outside the Roundhouse before the hearing began. The hearing had to be moved to a larger room inside the Roundhouse to accommodate the audience.
The commission chair asked the audience how many people supported the deal. Nobody raised their hands.
“Ensure that New Mexicans don’t have to pay money to these billionaires,” Sadie Gónzales Root told commissioners. “Don’t let the bad guys win.”
The only support for the deal came from some elected officials.
Rep. Meredith Dixon, an Albuquerque Democrat, said she supported the acquisition, calling it an “economic-development driver.”
“This investment creates the long-term stability needed to grow the company,” Dixon said.
Sen. Gabriel Ramos, a Republican from Silver City, said he supports the merger because Blackstone will provide money “to stabilize our infrastructure.”
Stephanie Telles, an Albuquerque city councilor, said she did not support the merger.
“Before the deal has even been approved, they’ve already demonstrated a willingness to ignore the laws that govern them,” she said.
Archdiocese of Santa Fe to close 2 Catholic schools
—KOB
The Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe announced this week it’s closing two Catholic schools due to declining enrollment and financial challenges.
KOB-TV reports that Holy Ghost Catholic School in Albuquerque and Holy Cross Catholic School in Santa Cruz, near Española, will close.
The archdiocese said Catholic education remains a key church ministry, but said its future depends on support from families, parishes and other backers.
North Valley mosque moves forward after officials deny appeal - Nakayla McClelland, Albuquerque Journal
The Bernalillo County Planning Commission on Wednesday cleared the way for a mosque to be built in the North Valley, denying an appeal that would have prevented the place of worship from breaking ground.
The Albuquerque Islamic Center said the 45,000-square-foot mosque — which would be at 9600 Second NW near Alameda — is meant to provide a larger space for worship and various programs. The organization has another mosque on Menaul NE near Moon and Wyoming.
The appeal, filed by Maria/Diers Neighborhood Association President Pat Hauser, raised concerns about noise and traffic and said the mosque would violate zoning laws.
On Wednesday, commissioners voted 5-1 to deny the appeal. The AIC said the mosque will be built under specifications meant to alleviate concerns of nearby residents.
Hauser began the hearing by walking planning commissioners through the various issues he had with the mosque, primarily that traffic in the Alameda area would worsen. However, he also denounced individuals who used the appeal as an opportunity to make borderline or outright Islamophobic statements.
“I want to be truly clear that … we do not support any group or individual using this case to promote anti-religious rhetoric,” he said. “That is not our agenda and is not the agenda of the neighbors who joined this appeal.”
Opposition
Hundreds of people filled the room at the county headquarters in Downtown Albuquerque on Tuesday morning. Fire marshals had to send people into an outflow room. The meeting, which began around 11 a.m., continued until nearly 4 p.m. as religious leaders, North Valley residents and others shared their opinions about the mosque. Commissioners had to quiet the crowd multiple times.
Some attendees donned green scarves to show their support for the mosque, while some in opposition wore American flag shirts and cowboy hats. One woman referred to those wearing the scarves as "jihadis" and said she had lived near a mosque in the past and that it was “horrible.”
Opponents of the mosque spoke against the Muslim community as a whole, stating that Sharia law and the Quran were “anti-American and anti-equality," and said supporters want to “conquer and destroy Christian beliefs.”
James Clements said that worshippers would not assimilate into a “Western capitalist free enterprise system.”
“I was accused by some of our colleagues here of being a Ku Klux Christian,” he said. “I wear that brand proudly. I’ll let you know that Islam is not a religion; it’s a geopolitical ideology masquerading as a religion.”
Lindsay Sedillo, who submitted a comment virtually, wrote that Muslims planned to invade America and the mosque being built was another step toward that.
“They burn American flags and want to conquer America,” she wrote. “Import the third world and you get the third world. 9/11 is a reminder of the hate that Muslims have for America.”
Others, such as Suzanne Presti, said that the mosque would compromise what is a traditionally rural community of smaller businesses, homes and farmers while causing traffic issues.
“Due to the adverse impact on traffic and safety … the location is just not appropriate for the size and scope of the project,” she said. “The North Valley is not a city. You’ll find chickens, horses, crops and open fields.”
Even the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, which hosts one of New Mexico’s largest events, submitted a comment stating it was "unclear whether a comprehensive traffic study was conducted” and cited heightened traffic conditions during the event.
Support
Mohammed Naqib said that the mosque was a celebration of diversity and intercultural relationships within New Mexico.
“When people ask what this mosque contributes to Albuquerque, I think the answer is found in the people it helped shape,” he said. “It helped raise compassionate young adults who care about their neighbors.”
The Rev. Christopher Holliday, a Catholic priest at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in the North Valley, said he supported the mosque because as America celebrates its 250th anniversary, the rights of Americans, including freedom of religion, need to be maintained.
“That is something important for us to cultivate,” he said. “There are so many influences from the Islamic culture and the Moorish community. This is consistent with our identity as New Mexicans, as Christians, as Americans, and in my denomination as Catholic.”
Taha Abdeljawad said that a mosque was just like a church or a synagogue, providing people a space to practice their religion peacefully.
“Unfortunately, most of the opposition we've seen has been rooted in misconceptions and fear rather than facts,” he said. “My hope is that we choose understanding over division and judge this project based on what it truly is, a place of worship for families who simply want the same opportunity to practice their religion and have a good space as everybody else.”
Court finds ICE detention policy violates federal law - Colleen Heild, Albuquerque Journal
The Trump administration’s year-old practice of denying bond hearings to thousands of noncitizens detained by immigration agents violates federal law, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week.
The Denver-based court Tuesday ordered the release of Rigoberto Santillan Quiroz, who has spent eight months in detention after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested him during a traffic stop in Oklahoma.
Quiroz is not charged with a crime, and no one contends he is a flight risk or a danger to the community, the three-judge panel found. He lived in the United States for 20 years, raised a family and was "whisked" away by ICE agents in November, according to the court's opinion.
ICE initiated removal proceedings against Quiroz, alleging he entered the country illegally. He filed a habeas corpus petition seeking a bond hearing, like thousands of others who have filed similar cases in U.S. District Court in New Mexico. Judges there have most often ruled against the Trump administration's policy.
In Quiroz's case, the 10th Circuit, which includes New Mexico, reversed a district court decision that agreed with the government that his mandatory detention without bond was permitted under federal law.
"We conclude by recognizing again the stakes of this dispute," the panel wrote. "In our circuit, thousands of noncitizens are likely subject to mandatory detention under the Government's newfound statutory reading and policy. Many more legal battles over this policy are currently playing out in courts across the country. Five circuits have already weighed in. Ultimately, only one court, the Supreme Court, can settle this issue once and for all."
Two federal appeals courts, based in St. Louis and New Orleans, have sided with the Trump administration. Three others, based in Atlanta, New York and Cincinnati, have agreed with the 10th Circuit's interpretation of an immigration law that reserves mandatory detention for people arrested at the U.S. border.
The 10th Circuit found that, for nearly 30 years, noncitizens already living in the United States have been eligible for bond after being detained.
That changed in July 2025, when the Trump administration adopted what the appeals court described as "a new and novel reading of old statutes."
The administration defended its policy by citing a section of immigration law that historically has applied to people entering the United States at the border.
"The Government's new position has resulted in a large increase in the number of immigration detainees and a flood of habeas petitions challenging those detentions. The circuits have split on the best reading of applicable statutes, and we are the latest court of appeals to weigh in on this question of national importance," the panel wrote.
Although the court's interpretation has nationwide implications, a habeas corpus petition, such as Quiroz's, is "inherently personal," the panel wrote.
Quiroz entered the United States two decades ago, married a lawful permanent resident and is the stepfather of a U.S. citizen. Aside from a DUI conviction, for which he completed community service, he has no other criminal history.
"By all accounts, Santillan Quiroz has become a valued and contributing member of his community," the ruling states.
The purpose of civil immigration detention generally is to prevent noncitizens from absconding to avoid removal, the panel wrote, adding that "those with strong connections to the community are less likely to do so."
"Due process requires that, whenever the Government detains somebody, it must have a good reason for doing so. If the detention is civil and nonpunitive, like the immigration detention here, that reason must rise to the level of a strong special justification," wrote Judge Richard Federico of Kansas.
"Adopting the Government's interpretation of (the immigration law) would pose grave constitutional problems because there is little justification, let alone a strong one, for detaining every one of the millions of unadmitted noncitizens in our country."
Law related to license plate readers goes into effect Wednesday - Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
More than a dozen new laws that the New Mexico Legislature recently enacted go into effect Wednesday, including bills that create new privacy protections for drivers, finalize reforms to the former New Mexico Game and Fish Department and increase penalties for those convicted of aggravated battery upon a police officer.
July 1 is the beginning of the state’s fiscal year, meaning the $11.1 billion budget lawmakers passed during the legislative session earlier this year takes effect, along with at least 12 separate laws that specify effective dates of Wednesday.
Advocates of one of the most high-profile bills — Senate Bill 40, aka the Driver Privacy and Safety Act — said drivers hitting the road Wednesday should feel more at ease about their license plate and other data collected by increasingly prolific automatic license plate readers.
The bill prohibits New Mexico law enforcement from using the technology, which are often stationary cameras that continuously snap photos of license plates, for general surveillance or civil traffic enforcement.
The bill also specifies that personal information the cameras collect cannot be given to out-of-state third parties, and it prohibits license plate data from being used in investigations into immigration status; “protected health care activities” like seeking gender-affirming or abortion care; or participating in First Amendment activities, such as rallies.
“This incredibly powerful and potentially incredibly invasive technology of license plate readers has some guardrails on the way it’s being used in our communities now,” Daniel Williams, deputy director of public policy at the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, told Source NM.
The ACLU-NM has spent the weeks leading up to the law’s effective date meeting with local law enforcement agencies, Williams said, and ensuring they know to including the new data-sharing provisions with vendors they hire to collect license plate data, including Flock, which is the most popular vendor in the state, Williams said.
“Flock assured many of their law enforcement customers and us during the process of the passage of SB40 that they would be building in support for compliance with SB40 into the system,” he said. “And so we’re really looking forward to learning more about what that looks like.”
A 2025 bill that changed the mission of the New Mexico Game and Fish Department to include funding and protections beyond just game species requires the department to formally adopt a new name Wednesday reflecting the change: The New Mexico Department of Wildlife.
While NM Rep. Matthew McQueen (D-Galisteo), who co-sponsored the Senate Bill 5, told Source NM on Wednesday that while the name change required in legislation is mainly a “formality,” it caps off a years-long fight to reform the department to focus on protections of endangered species and other wildlife across New Mexico beyond just those hunted for sport.
“You see this at the national level, like the difference between the Department of Defense and the Department of War. I think it affects your outlook,” he said of the name change. “The idea that wildlife is now part of their name, that’s a reminder for not only people who work there but also the public at-large that they have a broader mission that includes not just hook and bullet species.”
Under the law, the Department of Wildlife will receive roughly $10 million over three years from the state’s General Fund, not just fees from hunters and anglers, to support habitat improvements for animals on the state’s Species of Greatest Conservation Need list, which includes 15 species of amphibians, 145 species of birds and 57 species of mammals, among others.
McQueen, who left the Legislature in a failed bid for the Democratic party’s nomination to become commissioner of public lands, said it was nice to get the bill he championed for several years “across the finish line” before he left the Roundhouse.
Crime and punishment
Republican lawmakers have sought for several years to increase penalties related to a host of crimes for several years. One bill going into effect Wednesday makes aggravated battery on a police officer punishable by up to nine years in prison, up from three years under the previous statute.
New Mexico Rep. William “Bill” Hall (R-Aztec), one of House Bill 61’s cosponsors, told Source NM that the bill brings parity to state statutes regarding violence against police. Until the Legislature approved the change, assault on a police officer carried a harsher sentence than aggravated battery, he noted.
“Hopefully it will make people think twice before they attack a police officer,” Hall told Source NM. “We want them to know we actually care.”
New Mexico commission approves updated oil and gas cleanup rules - Joshua Bowling, Source New Mexico
The New Mexico Oil Conservation Commission on Wednesday voted to increase the amount of money that oil and gas operators have to post for cleanup costs.
The commission for months has weighed the changes, which supporters say will relieve taxpayers of the cost of cleanup and provide New Mexico some of the strongest protections in the nation. Across New Mexico, plugging and cleaning up after thousands of abandoned wells could cost the state between $700 million and $1.6 billion, according to a 2025 Legislative Finance Committee report.
Unplugged and inactive oil and gas wells proliferate so much of the state that a coalition of environmental groups earlier this year filed a lawsuit against the state Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, accusing it of endangering residents’ health by failing to address them.
Wednesday’s vote will require oil and gas operators to guarantee $150,000 for wells at high risk of abandonment; require operators with more than 20% inactive wells to post single-well bonding of $150,000; prevent operators with unstable finances from buying aging wells; require operators to plug or demonstrate that low-producing wells have a useful purpose; and require operators to demonstrate how inactive wells will resume production.
The State Land Office in May also held a multi-day hearing over a similar pending proposal for oil and gas companies operating on state land.
“New Mexicans should not be left paying to clean up oil and gas pollution after companies move on,” Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter organizer Antoinette Reyes said in a statement. “Strong bonding requirements help ensure that taxpayers are not stuck footing the bill plugging wells and restoring land, and that those responsibilities stay with industry. Oil and gas operators should be responsible for cleaning up their mess after they privately profit from extracting public resources.”
Santa Fe County becomes latest New Mexico community to adopt data center moratorium - Joshua Bowling, Source New Mexico
Elected officials in Santa Fe County unanimously passed a temporary moratorium on data center developments Tuesday evening, becoming the latest New Mexico community to do so.
The pause on issuing development permits for data centers took effect immediately and will run for 18 months while county staffers develop regulations on water, energy, noise and more. While there are no pending data center proposals in Santa Fe, commissioners said they believed it was important to be “proactive” and put guardrails in place before a developer pitches a project in the county.
Data center proposals have cropped up in virtually every corner of the state, from Raton on the Colorado state line to Doña Ana County on the Mexico border.
“When Project Jupiter kind of broke the news, as well as now fast forward to Socorro County, I’ve been looking at…trends around data centers, particularly in rural areas,” Commissioner Lisa Cacari Stone, who co-sponsored the moratorium with Commissioner Hank Hughes, said before the vote. “This is about prevention, not prohibition forever.”
The moratorium specifies that it applies to data centers that would use one or megawatts — enough to power up to 1,000 homes, in some areas. A previous draft of the moratorium put the cutoff at 100 megawatts, but commissioners said that amendment was necessary to prevent a developer from coming to Santa Fe and building a 99-megawatt facility.
Across the state, elected leaders have often taken different approaches to regulating data centers as proposals came in.
Leaders in Socorro County, about an hour south of Albuquerque, recently adopted a yearlong data center moratorium. There, a Canadian tech CEO had been pitching a data center and solar array on 10,000 acres of land in partnership with New Mexico Tech. Source NM found that neither the CEO nor his company had ever successfully built a data center.
And in Raton, a town of about 6,000 just south of the Colorado state line, municipal leaders recently postponed a decision on adopting a data center moratorium after previously signing a memorandum of understanding with a data center developer.
In Santa Fe Tuesday night, supporters said they hoped that the moratorium’s proactive nature would serve as a guidepost for other communities across the state. More than 10 residents spoke in-person during the Tuesday meeting’s public comment period and burst out in applause when commissioners passed the ordinance.
“I want you to know that folks all over the state are watching,” Santa Fe resident and co-director of the environmental advocacy group Earth Care Bianca Sopoci-Belknap told commissioners. “A lot of counties across the state…don’t have the resources we have here in Santa Fe County, so the work you all are doing to develop these really rigorous regulations so we can put forward a model protective ordinance is going to really matter.”
