SENATE MEMORIAL 16

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2011

INTRODUCED BY

Eric G. Griego

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO INVESTIGATE THE STATUS OF NEW MEXICO'S ADHERENCE TO THE PROVISIONS AND REQUIREMENTS OF THE TREATY OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO AND DETERMINE WHETHER THE STATE HAS ANY OUTSTANDING LIABILITY FOR HARM TO LANDOWNERS.

     WHEREAS, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed on February 2, 1848, brought an official end to the Mexican-American War; and

     WHEREAS, under the treaty, the United States obtained vast territories in the southwest, including land in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, much of this land was subject to preexisting land grants to individuals, groups and communities, made by Spain and Mexico from the seventeenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries; and

     WHEREAS, among the important provisions of the treaty is the provision that the "property of every kind now belonging to Mexicans not established there shall be inviolably respected"; and

     WHEREAS, many people in New Mexico and the nation, including grantee heirs, scholars and legal experts, feel that the United States did not protect the property rights of Mexican-Americans and their descendants; and

     WHEREAS, on January 12, 1911, New Mexico ratified a constitution and on February 24, 1911, President William Howard Taft signed that constitution, which included the statement: "The rights, privileges and immunities, civil, political and religious guaranteed to the people of New Mexico by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo shall be preserved inviolate."; and

     WHEREAS, when New Mexico attained statehood on January 6, 1912, the provisions of the constitution of New Mexico ensured that the protection of property rights guaranteed in the treaty became the responsibility of the state; and

     WHEREAS, the office of the attorney general is charged with upholding the constitution and laws of the state, including those laws and regulations that emanate from the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo; and

     WHEREAS, in the 2009 annual report of the office of the attorney general, Deputy Attorney General David Thomson referred to the "Report to the New Mexico Attorney General — A Response to the GAO's 2004 Report, Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: Findings and Possible Options Regarding Longstanding Community Land Grant Claims in New Mexico", noting that the report had been presented to the entire legislature and that Mr. Thomson "continues to monitor and report the federal response";

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the attorney general be requested to investigate New Mexico's adherence to the provisions and requirements of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and determine whether the state has any outstanding liability for harm to landowners; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a report of the findings and recommendations of the attorney general's investigation be presented to the appropriate interim legislative committee by December 1, 2011; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the attorney general.

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