{"id":41054,"date":"2012-06-26T06:40:15","date_gmt":"2012-06-26T12:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=41054"},"modified":"2012-06-27T07:17:48","modified_gmt":"2012-06-27T13:17:48","slug":"nm-leaders-feds-need-to-reform-immigration-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2012\/06\/nm-leaders-feds-need-to-reform-immigration-system\/","title":{"rendered":"NM leaders: Feds need to reform immigration system"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"This<\/a>

This photo was taken at an immigration reform rally in Washington, D.C. (naritheole\/flickr.com)<\/p><\/div>\n

The U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s ruling on Arizona\u2019s immigration law won\u2019t mean much for policy in New Mexico, according to the Albuquerque Journal. In the meantime, most members of the state\u2019s delegation in D.C. and the governor said the ruling points to the need for federal immigration reform.<\/h4>\n

What will the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s ruling on Arizona\u2019s controversial immigration law mean for policy in New Mexico? Not much, according to the Albuquerque Journal.<\/p>\n

The newspaper reported that<\/a> \u201cimmigrants\u2019 rights advocates say lawmakers (in New Mexico) have avoided a punitive approach.\u201d From the newspaper:<\/p>\n

\u201cBut civil rights activists say the high court\u2019s failure to strike down Arizona\u2019s \u2018show me your papers\u2019 provision has troubling implications.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018We remain particularly concerned for New Mexicans\u2026 traveling through the state of Arizona who might be subject to racial profiling and prolonged detention,\u2019 Peter Simonson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, said Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the high court\u2019s ruling revived calls from some activists for Republican Gov. Susana Martinez to rescind her 2011 order that State Police ask about the immigration status of those they arrest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not about to happen: Martinez says it\u2019s a border-related public safety issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cNor is Monday\u2019s ruling going to change procedures in New Mexico\u2019s largest city, where Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry started a policy in 2010 requiring an immigration status check of everyone arrested.<\/p>\n

\u201cBerry \u2014 a Republican who also described his policy as a public safety matter \u2014 said the high court ruling \u2018validates our pragmatic approach\u2019 of having federal officials check the immigration status of criminal suspects.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The court on Monday tossed three provisions in Arizona\u2019s law but left the most controversial provision intact<\/a> \u2013 the piece requiring state and local police officers to ask about immigration status during a traffic stop if they have reasonable suspicion that the person might be in the United States illegally. The court essentially sent this part of the case back to a lower court for further consideration based on how the law is applied.<\/p>\n

NMPolitics.net asked all five members of New Mexico\u2019s delegation in Washington, D.C. and the governor for comment. Here\u2019s what we got:<\/p>\n

U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, Democrat<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Supreme Court struck down three major aspects of the Arizona law, but said it was too early to decide whether a fourth controversial aspect of the law is constitutional until it could see how the state would implement it. On balance I think it was a well-reasoned decision that affirms that immigration policy is in the province of the federal government,\u201d Bingaman<\/a> said.<\/p>\n

U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, Democrat<\/h3>\n

\u201cThe Arizona ruling rightly clarifies the federal government\u2019s broad authority over immigration policy. Until Congress passes comprehensive immigration reform, we\u2019re inviting states to enact a patchwork of poorly conceived laws, like Arizona\u2019s, that may infringe on citizens\u2019 civil rights and encourage racial profiling,\u201d Udall<\/a> said.<\/p>\n

U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, Republican<\/h3>\n

Pearce\u2019s<\/a> office hasn\u2019t responded to a request for comment, but the congressman was quoted by the Journal as saying, \u201cUntil we get serious about immigration reform in Washington, these states will be forced to continue fending for themselves while Washington keeps their hands tied behind their back.\u201d<\/p>\n

U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich, Democrat<\/h3>\n

\u201cI am pleased that the Supreme Court has struck down key provisions of Arizona\u2019s immigration law, but I\u2019m concerned that the \u2018show me your papers\u2019 provision that is still intact casts a wide net over all people of Hispanic descent, and will undoubtedly snare honest, hardworking Americans in a misguided attempt to deport undocumented immigrants,\u201d Heinrich<\/a> said.<\/p>\n

\u201cArizona\u2019s legislation was the wrong reaction to a very real issue. Passing laws that institutionalize racial profiling is no solution,\u201d he said. \u201cI am proud that here in New Mexico we value our diverse heritage. Congress must rise to the challenge and fix this broken system at the federal level once and for all.\u201d<\/p>\n

U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n, Democrat<\/h3>\n

\u201cWhile the Supreme Court decision struck down a number of the provisions of SB 1070 and reaffirmed that immigration requires a solution at the federal level, I do have concerns with the part of the law that was left in place,\u201d Luj\u00e1n<\/a> said. \u201cThis decision serves as yet another reminder of the importance of passing\u00a0comprehensive immigration reform\u00a0at the federal level that fixes our broken system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gov. Susana Martinez, Republican<\/h3>\n

\u201cI have always maintained that immigration reform should take place at the federal level, and that is consistent with the Supreme Court ruling today,\u201d Martinez<\/a> said. \u201cWhile I never supported an Arizona-style law in New Mexico, I understand the frustration felt by Arizonans, given the federal government\u2019s failure to address the immigration issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn New Mexico, we have tackled public safety issues relating to border security in responsible ways, such as ending the sanctuary state policy that prevented state police from checking the immigration status of those arrested for crimes and seeking to repeal the law that gives driver\u2019s licenses to illegal immigrants,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s ruling on Arizona\u2019s immigration law won\u2019t mean much for policy in New Mexico, according to the Albuquerque Journal. In the meantime, most members of the state\u2019s delegation in D.C. and the governor said the ruling points to the need for federal immigration reform.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[140,116],"class_list":["post-41054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-border-and-immigration","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41054\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}