Comunidades en Accion y de Fé

On Facebook, Doña Ana County Commissioner goes after activist’s mother

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A southern New Mexico county commissioner appeared to take personal shots at the mother of a female activist and constituent on Facebook Wednesday night. Screenshots from progressive activist Johana Bencomo show comments from Democratic Doña Ana County Commissioner John Vasquez, saying Bencomo’s mother asked him for “wierd (sic) favors” from the commissioner. In a time of #MeToo and public discussions regarding treatment of women by men in positions of power, Vasquez may have put himself, the county commission and the state and local Democratic party in an unwanted spotlight. Bencomo said Vasquez’s personal shots came after she commented on a post he made criticizing other politicians for endorsing candidates seeking election in 2018. “I just simply asked a question,” Bencomo told NM Political Report.

Immigration

ICE enforcement surge makes some ‘live in constant fear’

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Every morning before he leaves to go to work, Yalil scans the street outside his home to see if any unusual cars are parked outside. “If it’s something, we do have to plan not to go to work and stay the whole day home,” he said. Yalil’s little brothers, both still in school and born in the United States, are too young to understand why their family needs to be so cautious. But they’re instructed every day to never answer the door, “not even to the missionaries, the people who are talking about God,” Yalil said. “We just let them know they cannot open the door because my dad and my mom could be detained and we might not get to see them again,” he said.

wage theft

Judge stops, for now, some of state’s reasons for denying wage theft claims

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A judge temporarily halted a New Mexico state agency’s self-imposed limitations on wage theft claims.

In a ruling Tuesday afternoon, Santa Fe District Judge David Thomson ordered that, for now, the state Department of Workforce Solutions (DWS) cannot automatically deny complaints of wage theft that total more than $10,000. The state department is also not allowed to automatically turn down claims that happened more than a year before they’re made. “Wage theft” refers to an employer denying payments owed to an employee in any way, which can include paying below minimum wage and refusing to pay overtime, for example. Thomson’s temporary restraining order against the state comes because of a class-action lawsuit filed just two weeks ago by “low income workers” who made wage theft claims against their employers to DWS. Ten individuals named in the lawsuit allege that DWS’ handling of their wage theft claims violate multiple state laws.