A New Mexico state representative didn’t mince words when a state legislative committee overseeing courts and justice policy opened the floor for remarks on Tuesday.
During the two-day meeting of the legislature’s Court, Corrections and Justice Committee State Representative Eleanor Chávez, a Democrat from Bernalillo County’s South Valley, recalled stories the committee had been told of agents reported working with local police officers in Anthony and outside a school in Las Cruces near the U.S-Mexico border.
Chávez closed her remarks this way:
Many of you know that a few years ago I took in a young person from another country who was fleeing not only poverty but abuse, gang threats. I fear for his safety and his life every day.
I fear for my neighbors who some live in mixed families every day. And I know that many of us on this committee feel the same way. And I’m going to call it what it is.
It’s fascism and ICE is acting like the KKK.
And we’ve got to stop our local police, our state police. We’ve got to stop those employees who are collaborating with ICE. We’ve got to stop them. And we’ve got to make our laws stronger so that we protect ourselves because when they’re done coming after our immigrant community, they’re going to start picking everybody else off as well. and we need to understand that. So the time to stand up is now. It’s not time to stand down. Thank you, Mr. Chair.