Border Patrol

Some Southern NM cannabis producers face conundrum with testing facility locations

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Cannabis companies around the state are preparing their storefronts and bolstering their crops for the start of recreational-use cannabis sales, which will start on Friday. And while a majority of storefronts are expected to be in the Albuquerque and Santa Fe metro areas, some businesses in the southern part of the state might get held up in an important process of preparing cannabis for sales: testing. 

State law requires that the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department develop testing standards for commercially sold cannabis. The department’s Cannabis Control Division developed rules and regulations that require all cannabis being sold go through a series of tests that look for things like fungus, pesticides and to verify the potency level. 

But for cannabis growers in Las Cruces, it’s nearly impossible to transport cannabis products to a testing facility without the risk of federal agents seizing those products and, in some cases, any cash that is found. There are currently only two state-approved cannabis testing labs in New Mexico. One is in Albuquerque and the other is in Santa Fe.

Allen Sanchez

Bill would stop NM National Guard from aiding in ICE immigration actions

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One state legislator acted quickly after news that Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly authored a draft memo calling to mobilize National Guard troops in several states, including New Mexico, to apprehend those in the country illegally. State Rep. Bill McCamley, D-Mesilla Park, introduced legislation that would keep New Mexico National Guard troops from conducting immigration operations. Related: Reported plan to use National Guard to apprehend immigrants included NM

“In New Mexico, we will not order our dedicated National Guard members, many of whom would be asked to deport their neighbors and possibly relatives, to participate in ripping families apart and terrorizing our immigrant communities,” McCamley said in a statement. “I hope and trust that our governor would support this legislation that protects New Mexicans from the divisive and hateful policies of the current presidential administration.”

Related: Bill would stop NM National Guard from aiding in ICE immigration actions

The Catholic Church in the state denounced the idea of using National Guard troops to apprehend those in the country without documents. From the AP:
Allen Sanchez, executive director of the New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops, said Friday the Roman Catholic Church in the nation’s most Hispanic state would strongly oppose any effort to use National Guard troops to find and deport immigrants.

Border

Former ‘Border Czar’ gives real facts about immigration

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It’s hard to find anyone in Washington who knows border issues better than Alan Bersin. His unique perspective combines years of frontline law enforcement experience with academic knowledge and intellectual interest in the historical, economic and social forces that are at work at the borders of the United States, especially the U.S.-Mexico line. Bersin became U.S. attorney in San Diego in 1993 and subsequently spent almost five years as President Clinton’s “border czar,” overseeing a border-wide crackdown on illegal immigration and drug smuggling. During the Obama administration, he served in several key posts in the Department of Homeland Security, including as acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, the force of 58,000 employees that includes the U.S. Border Patrol as well as CBP officers guarding air, land and sea ports of entry. He later served as assistant secretary for international affairs and chief diplomatic officer at DHS, a job he left last month.

2017 Legislative Session

House panel approves NM ‘sanctuary’ bill

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A state House of Representatives panel approved a bill to bar local law enforcement agencies in New Mexico from enforcing federal immigration laws. The bill, which according to a fiscal analysis would prohibit state resources from being used against anyone “whose only violation is being in the United States illegally,” passed on a party line 3-2 vote in the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee. The two “no” votes came from state Reps. Monica Youngblood of Albuquerque and Bob Wooley of Roswell. Both are Republicans.

Congress & Federal Issues

Udall, Heinrich say Border Patrol needs more resources

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U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich want more resources for Border Patrol agents in New Mexico’s bootheel area. The two U.S. Senators sent a letter to Customs and Border Protection Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske asking for the additional support, which would include at least a dozen more horses to patrol some “rugged and mountainous terrain” and more financial incentives to stem the high rate of turnover for Border Patrol agents. “Our meetings with local residents and officials helped to identify several actions that you could take to help make the border more secure and help our constituents feel safer in their homes,” Heinrich and Udall wrote. “We respectfully ask that you consider each of these proposals and take appropriate action to implement them as soon as possible.” Both U.S. Senators are Democrats.

2016 elections

NM/El Paso agents challenge national union’s Trump endorsement

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The local union that represent border patrol agents in El Paso and New Mexico will challenge the national union’s endorsement of Donald Trump for president. The March 30 endorsement by the national union, the National Border Patrol Council, was the first ever such endorsement by the union. It comes in the wake of Trump leading the Republican field, though receiving a series of body blows over recent weeks in elections, with a sharp focus on immigration and the border. The vote to endorse came through an 11-person board of the NBPC, though the union would not reveal the vote count. Now, Local 1929 says that they don’t like the endorsement and may move to remain neutral.