New Mexico
New Mexico AG greenlights new task force, creates online portal for missing Indigenous people • Source New Mexico
Attorney General Raúl Torrez plans to establish a task force focused on the disproportionate rates at which Indigenous people experience violence and go missing, the New Mexico Department of Justice announced Tuesday. The agency also launched the initial phase of an online portal for tracking cases of missing Indigenous people.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration in mid-2023 dissolved a group dedicated to addressing a crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people. Advocates and affected families spoke against the decision, saying their work was just beginning.
The Legislature seemed to agree, unanimously passing Senate Joint Memorial 2 last month calling on Torrez to convene tribal representatives, survivors and families, and law enforcement officials to update a state response plan created by the defunct task force in 2022 and offer legislative recommendations.
The state budget includes $200,000 for that purpose.
A spokesperson for Torrez, Lauren Rodriguez, said he’ll follow the Legislature’s guidance outlined in the memorial as he figures out the task force’s membership.
The public portal unveiled on Tuesday — which includes 201 missing Indigenous people, with an average time missing of 2,886 days, or nearly eight years — comes two years after lawmakers mandated it.
Lawmakers in 2022 passed a bill requiring the attorney general’s office to develop an online portal for cases of missing Indigenous people. The bill permits the department to give tribes grants, as well, to help them use the portal. Lawmakers appropriated $1 million for the work. In November, New Mexico In Depth reported none of the money had been spent.
“We have to break down barriers to communication in this space and give the public and key stakeholders direct access” to information, Torrez said in a news release, adding the portal is a “critical first step in that process and will provide invaluable insights for policymakers,” including the task force he intends to create.
The portal lists known missing persons cases and provides families with information about where they can file cases, depending on where they live.
But for the portal to be as useful as possible, it needs to include more information, said Darlene Gomez, a member of the defunct task force and attorney who represents affected families pro-bono.
Gomez pointed out the missing persons entries don’t have photos attached to them and don’t include many details.
“To me it just seems like something that they just threw up there to say they have a portal,” Gomez said. “And if this is what they’re going to produce, why did it take them two years to do so?”
The department is working to gain access to criminal justice information systems maintained by the FBI, Rodriguez said in an email, which will allow for more detailed entries, including photos.
Rodriguez said the department doesn’t yet have the ability to directly collect reports on the portal because that will require memorandums of understanding. For now, she said, the portal directs people to the appropriate law enforcement agency.
Josh’s Saturday Night Forecast
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Calmer weather has moved back into the state this afternoon. Temperatures are slightly warmer across northwestern New Mexico, while southeastern areas are cooler thanks to the backdoor cold fronts that moved in on Friday. Breezier winds will return Sunday and will help kick off a warming trend across the state, along with an elevated fire threat in eastern New Mexico.
Warmer weather will continue building in across the state throughout the upcoming week. A few isolated rain chances will return Monday in parts of New Mexico, but some of that rain may evaporate before reaching the ground.
Good morning!
Heading out the door this morning? Bundle up! Cold air has settled into the Land of Enchantment after two cold fronts passed through New Mexico within the last 24 hours. Temperatures have fallen to the teens, 20s and 30s throughout northern New Mexico. The metro area is just as cold with Moriarty falling to the teens and several other cities bottoming out near the freezing point. The National Weather Service (NWS) has Freeze Warnings in place until 9 a.m. for several locations in northern and central New Mexico. However, one of the aforementioned cold fronts is still moving through eastern New Mexico this morning. That back door cold front has brought 30-45 mph wind gusts, or more, in southeastern New Mexico. The front will push west further west this morning bringing breezy winds to far south and southwestern New Mexico this afternoon. Otherwise, much calmer weather will be on tap for the state compared to the majority of this week.
The colder air this morning will bring cooler and seasonable weather to the Land of Enchantment later on Saturday. Afternoon highs will range from the high 50s, in sections of the northern mountains, to the 70s in southern New Mexico. Throughout the weekend into early next week a warming trend is expected as a ridge of high pressure builds on Sunday, which is forecasted to last through at least Tuesday. By next Tuesday, high temperatures will be 5 to 15 degrees above normal, and even warmer for some locations by next Wednesday with breezy conditions returning to the state.
Moisture does stream back into the state early next week across New Mexico. Tomorrow’s forecast is expected to have cloud coverage increase with warmer weather. On Monday sufficient moisture in the mid to upper levels of the atmosphere will bring the chance for showers; however, moisture levels toward the surface will be lower. That will also bring the chance for dry showers and thunderstorms throughout the state. Have a great weekend and stay warm this morning!
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A New Mexico man has taken a plea deal for his role in the death of a three-year-old girl more than two years ago. Police said that Kerri Santos brought her toddler to University of New Mexico Hospital, claiming that she fell and hurt herself. Medical staff determined the child was already dead when she arrived, and noticed signs of abuse, including evidence that she had been tied up. Police said that Santos and three others were staying at James Welch’s home when the abuse took place.
On Friday, Welch pleaded no contest to three counts of child abuse and tampering with evidence. He faces up to five years behind bars.
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