In this year’s election, New Mexico’s Second Congressional House District is one of the most closely watched in the nation - in 2024 the district voted for Donald Trump but elected Democrat Gabe Vasquez to Congress. Republicans eye it as a potential flip to stave off Democrats from taking control of the House.
New Mexico in Focus host Nash Jones spoke with both candidates for the 2nd Congressional District on NMPBS. Incumbent Democrat Gabe Vasquez said both parties have failed on immigration.
GABE VASQUEZ: I think it starts by reforming our entire visa system. I'll use my grandma as an example. It took her using a family visa petition– 16 years that it took her to get a visa the legal way. Meanwhile, during the Biden administration, you know, asylum seekers who came to the border in massive numbers were given job authorization. Were given places to essentially stay, and folks like my grandma were very frustrated that they felt like they were cheating the system, right? And so, when the Obama administration was here, and we had a supermajority in the Senate, we put immigration on the back burner. That's something that personally, for me, is unacceptable. And so, both parties have gotten it wrong. When we've had a chance to do it, we have failed the American people, and now we're seeing the consequences of it.
NMPBS: You've been in Congress for two terms now. What have you worked towards in terms of tangible changes to the immigration system?
VASQUEZ: Let me highlight one particular bill that I just introduced. It's called the Care Worker Visa Act. Now, this is particular to New Mexico. There's 15,000 kids right now that can't get that universal childcare that we now have in New Mexico because there's a shortage of childcare workers. Childcare isn't just expensive for Americans across the country, but so is elder care or care for people with disabilities. My bill would open up 100,000 new visas for existing folks that don't have documentation or folks to petition to have a family caregiver. So if you wanted to hire somebody at your home, as an example, you could petition that person to work with you, with your family, to take care of your child for up to three years, and then be able to achieve legal status in this country. That is a common sense way that I think Republicans and Democrats can agree that we can make child care less expensive by reforming our broken immigration system.
NMPBS: Switching gears a little bit, you voted against President Trump's big bill, which led to tens of thousands of New Mexicans from losing SNAP benefits or food stamps. If reelected, what steps will you take to support District Two residents who've lost their SNAP benefits, all while grocery prices are through the roof?
VASQUEZ: I've introduced several different bills in Congress to help address both of these issues, or have sponsored or co-sponsored these issues. Bottom line: 10,000 New Mexican kids today don't have access to food from SNAP benefits. That's $6 a day. That's a can of pinto beans. That's a small bag of tortillas, and that's maybe a can of green chile. That kid has to eat for three meals. Taking that away is completely cruel for a child, right? It's completely unacceptable. So we have to restore those SNAP cuts. That means that our budget priorities have to change in Congress. And when House Democrats have the opportunities to lead committees like the Appropriations Committee and the Agriculture Committee, we negotiate the budget.
NMPBS: What's the right amount to spend on foreign wars, and what can you do in Congress to actually start to rein in some of this spending?
VASQUEZ: Well, it starts with ending the Iran War. I voted six times already to end the Iran War, and we've seen more Republicans now join our effort to end the Iran war. Starting this unauthorized war without notice to Congress, without our allies in Iran, has cost American taxpayers. I mean, so much money, both in the cost of gas and diesel and fertilizer. So we just made a deal with one of our enemies under the president's foreign policy, and on top of that, we are spending hundreds of billions of dollars on this war, that is not that the federal government refuses to admit the total cost of this war because they know that it's incredibly high.
NMPBS: Now, you mentioned how the war in Iran is impacting costs here at home. What are you looking to do for District Two residents who are struggling to make ends meet and who consider affordability their number one priority this election.
VASQUEZ: It is a devastating economic situation that we find ourselves in, and it's even worse for small businesses that are struggling to survive because of the cost of inputs, the cost of goods for their products. They're raising prices on just about everything. So we've got to end the war in Iran immediately, we've got to cut these ridiculous tariffs, and we've got to start making friends with our largest trading partners again, which is Canada and Mexico, to bring down the cost of goods.
