Michelle Paulene Abeyta

The 2025 session of the New Mexico state legislature is nearly over and it was a first for a number of newly elected lawmakers, including Rep. Michelle Pauline Abyeta (D-To'hajiilee) who is Diné. Her large district encompasses six counties west of Albuquerque, from White Rock all the way to Alamo Navajo Reservation. Abeyta told KUNM her priority for this session is to have bills that touch every demographic in her district.

An estimated 40,000 New Mexico children were raised by grandparents or a relative besides their parents in 2024, according to the New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department. A bill in the legislature would create a pilot program to assist these kinship caregivers.