SENATE MEMORIAL 39

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

INTRODUCED BY

Jacob R. Candelaria

A MEMORIAL

DENOUNCING FEDERAL EXECUTIVE POLICIES THAT ARE DETRIMENTAL TO RELATIONS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO.

     WHEREAS, on January 25, 2017, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders that will dramatically change previously close ties between the governments of the United States and Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, the president's campaign promise to build a wall along the two thousand miles of the United States and Mexico border became reality with an executive order for the immediate construction of a physical wall on the southern border between the United States and Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, the executive order gives the United States department of homeland security six months to study how to prevent all unlawful entries into the United States, a goal many policymakers consider impossible; and

     WHEREAS, a border wall would directly impact New Mexico's economy and would endanger the New Mexico's port of entry at Santa Teresa; and

     WHEREAS, the Los Angeles Times reports that cost estimates for walling off the entire border run from twelve billion dollars ($12,000,000,000) to thirty-eight billion dollars ($38,000,000,000) and would cost millions more to maintain over time; and

     WHEREAS, Mexican President Enrique Nieto canceled a scheduled trip to Washington to meet with President Trump after the executive order to build the wall was signed; and

     WHEREAS, immigration is at the forefront of issues between the United States and Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, under the president's plans, immigration officials would have more freedom to deport people they find in the country illegally; and

     WHEREAS, through his executive orders, the president expanded the list of people considered a priority for removal to those charged with crimes, even if a trial has not yet been held, and those who have improperly received any welfare benefits; and

     WHEREAS, because of these immigration policies, many people would be unable to win reprieves from deportation even if they had strong family ties in the United States; and

     WHEREAS, the president has instructed immigration officials to expand the number and size of detention facilities to hold asylum seekers and people awaiting hearings in immigration court; and

     WHEREAS, advocates for immigrants are concerned about poor conditions and substandard medical care in detention facilities; and

     WHEREAS, the president has yet to make policy decisions on a 2012 directive that gives undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children a chance to work in the United States legally without getting deported; and

     WHEREAS, there are more than seven hundred forty thousand participants in the deferred action for childhood arrivals program, also known as the dreamers program, who have work permits under the policy; and

     WHEREAS, changes to the dreamers program will have significant consequences for many New Mexico participants; and

     WHEREAS, sanctuary cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Santa Fe are affected by the president's immigration policies; and

     WHEREAS, the president has ordered federal agencies to withhold federal grants from cities that "willfully refuse to comply" with immigration laws; and

     WHEREAS, White House officials have not yet explained exactly which categories of federal funds would be targeted, although most of the funding affected would be funds overseen by the United States department of justice and the United States department of homeland security; and

     WHEREAS, on a state level, funds could be withheld from grants to local police for purchasing new equipment for training and for reimbursement to local jails for holding prisoners and detainees for the federal bureau of investigation; and

     WHEREAS, recent policies promoting a border wall between Mexico and the United States and certain aggressive stances on trade and immigration diminish the diversity of people, religions and cultures that make the United States a shining democracy; and

     WHEREAS, a twenty percent tariff on all Mexican imports would threaten the future of New Mexico's port of entry at Santa Teresa;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that federal executive policies that are detrimental to relations between the United States and Mexico be denounced; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the diversity of the United States be celebrated instead of feared and denigrated; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the president of the United States, the president pro tempore of the United States senate, the speaker of the United States house of representatives and members of the New Mexico congressional delegation.

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