Santa Fe, NM — Senate Republicans strongly support protecting the safety and welfare of all citizens of New Mexico. We support the enforcement of federal law to apprehend and remove violent offenders who are in our country illegally. We are alarmed by concerns being raised by our Native American citizens that they either have been or could be wrongfully targeted by these efforts. In order to protect our citizens from this unintended consequence, we have established an email tip-line for citizens to submit two types of critical concerns:
any instances of unfounded action by federal officials against U.S. citizens or legal residents within New Mexico; and the presence in any New Mexico community of violent illegal offenders attempting to evade capture by federal officials. The email address is immediately available to all concerned New Mexicans at
Senate Republican Leader Bill Sharer issued this call to action for all New Mexicans: "The intentions of the current federal administration are to prioritize the apprehension and removal of violent criminals who are here illegally. We support these efforts to improve the safety of our communities, and we encourage New Mexicans to help notify us if these violent criminals are hiding out in our midst."
As ongoing law enforcement efforts around the nation target criminals and criminal organizations who are in the country illegally, there are various reports of successful operations in major cities where cartels, gangs, and members of organized criminal enterprises have been found and arrested for crimes such as human trafficking, drug trafficking, illegal arms dealing, violent offenses, and the sexual exploitation of children.
The Senator also reassured New Mexicans: "We understand that these federal operations may have caused fear among some New Mexico populations, particularly Native Americans. But we remain committed to protecting the rights and safety of all New Mexicans, and we invite concerned individuals to notify us via our new email tip-line about incidents in which citizens or legal residents are subjected to undue scrutiny by immigration officials. With this information, we can help protect law-abiding New Mexicans."
