New Mexico
New Mexico governor cites 'dangerous intersection' of crime and homelessness, wants lawmakers to act
Citing what she calls the “dangerous intersection” of crime and homelessness, New Mexico’s governor is calling on lawmakers to address stubbornly high crime rates as they convene Thursday for a special legislative session.
In issuing her proclamation, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham talked about a vulnerable segment of society that falls prey to drug and human trafficking. She also repeatedly referenced a “revolving door” within the state’s criminal justice system that has resulted in dangerous individuals and those who need mental health services remaining on the streets.
The governor pointed to thousands of cases that have been dismissed in recent years over competency questions, including many involving violent felonies.
“This should be a terrifying environment for anyone,” Lujan Grisham said, admonishing any lawmakers who don’t want to spend time to resolve the problems. “It’s unacceptable. We cannot be a permissive state for risk behavior.”
The two-term Democrat is urging lawmakers to consider longer minimum sentences for gun-toting felons, restrictions on panhandling and an expansion of involuntary detention and treatment for mental health problems and addiction.
Some leading legislators say the proposals could lead to unintended consequences. Groups that advocate for homeless people and civil rights worry that they would infringe on constitutional rights.
Here are some things to know about the special session:
Crime in Albuquerque
FBI data shows steep drops in every category of violent crime across the U.S. in the first three months of 2024 compared with the same period a year earlier, continuing a downward trend since a coronavirus pandemic surge.
That’s not the case in the Albuquerque metropolitan area — home to roughly one-third of New Mexico residents — where violent crime rates are holding steady at about three times the national average. Criminal cases involving juveniles and guns rose last year as authorities also grappled with encampments of homeless people on sidewalks and in riverside parks.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said Wednesday that the city cleared 1,000 encampments in June alone and spends $1 million a month on housing vouchers. It’s not enough, he said.
Lujan Grisham said the streets still aren’t safe after lawmakers in February approved modest public safety reforms that extend a waiting period on gun purchases to seven days and give judges an extra opportunity to deny pretrial bail in dangerous situations.
This week the governor extended emergency public health orders for the Albuquerque area regarding gun violence and illicit drug use that were first invoked in September 2023.
Involuntary commitment
Several states including California and Tennessee are embracing a more forceful approach to untreated mental illness and addiction issues amid concerns about crime and homelessness.
Lujan Grisham wants legislators to make it easier to place a person involuntarily into treatment. She also wants to give courts and prosecutors more leeway to detain and evaluate criminal defendants when mental competency is in question.
Ben Baker, a senior public safety adviser to the governor, said it’s time to intervene in new ways when a court declares a defendant mentally incompetent.
“Incompetency is determined, they are released and they return for very similar criminal conduct, ad infinitum,” Baker said in a podcast interview with the Santa Fe New Mexican.
The ACLU and other advocacy groups warn that the governor’s initiatives would make it easier to force someone into a locked mental health facility.
Other measure: gun crimes and panhandling
The proposed agenda for the special session also includes enhanced penalties for a convicted felon found in possession of a gun during the commission of another crime. The governor wants a minimum nine-year prison sentence with no reductions for good behavior.
Another initiative would make it illegal to loiter on narrow medians amid high-speed traffic, responding to a proliferation of urban panhandlers.
Proponents say panhandlers can still exercise free-speech rights to ask for money from sidewalks and other areas. The ban would apply to medians up to 3 feet wide on streets with a 30 mph speed limit.
Also under the proposals, state agencies would collect and analyze information on a monthly basis from local law enforcement agencies about crime and any guns involved.
Alternatives
Frustrations are mounting after legislators appropriated more than $800 million over the past three years to address crime, including underlying mental health issues.
State Democratic House Speaker Javier Martínez of Albuquerque said at a news conference Monday that the governor’s approach is uninformed and could backfire.
“We have deep concerns about the potential impact these proposals will have on New Mexicans, especially the most vulnerable among us,” he said.
Legislators including Democratic Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth of Santa Fe are expressing support for a possible expansion of voluntary treatment programs for people with severe mental illness through both civil and criminal court proceedings.
Daniel Williams of the ACLU of New Mexico said that approach, using a pilot program to see what works and what doesn’t, “is much more encouraging to us than rushing into legislation where there are some real risks of harm.”
Lee writes for the Associated Press. Associated Press reporter Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque contributed.
CHIMAYO, N.M. (KRQE) – A suspect is dead following a shooting involving the Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Office in Chimayo on Highway 76. Deputies are said to be okay. New Mexico State Police is investigating the shooting.
KRQE News 13 will provide updates as they become available.
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KFOX14/CBS4) — A leader in the New Mexico Republican Party was arrested Wednesday, accused of a deadly hit-and-run in Las Cruces.
Former Treasurer of the Republican Party in New Mexico, Kimberly Ann Skaggs, 54, was arrested Wednesday and charged with leaving the scene and tampering with evidence, jail records show.
Police documents show the charges stem from a deadly hit-and-run crash that happened Monday afternoon, which killed 40-year-old bicyclist, Andrew Brown.
Investigators believed Skaggs was involved after an investigation revealed that Skaggs allegedly was driving fast in the area, fled the scene after the crash and then tried to hide the vehicle from authorities.
RECOMMENDED: Las Cruces couple arrested on murder, child abuse charges in neighbor’s stabbing death
The investigation
According to police documents, a witness at the scene of the crash– 850 N. Fairacres Rd.– described seeing a dark blonde-haired woman flee in a black Cadillac Escalade SUV.
Afterwards, investigators said they saw on Flock cameras– A.I. powered license plate readers– a black Cadillac Escalade traveling near the site of the crash minutes before the incident.
READ MORE: Dona Ana County expands Flock license plate cameras as officials cite crime-solving gains
The license plates showed that the vehicle belonged to Skaggs and that, in September 2025, the Las Cruces Police Department had given her a citation for “racing on streets-exhibition driving.”
Investigators stated that a business on Picacho Ave. captured what they alleged was the same black Cadillac Escalade driving fast.
Then, the documents described how investigators tracked down the Escalade using OnStar’s live GPS tracking, discovering the SUV was at a property on the 5000 block of Northwind Road, which investigators said the Dona Ana County Assessors Office confirmed is a property owned by Skaggs.
On Tuesday, at around 6:41 p.m.– over 24 hours after the deadly hit-and-run– investigators executed a search warrant on the property and described finding the black Cadillac Escalade behind a home, under a red metal carport.
Investigators noted damage on the SUV consistent with the crash, highlighting that there was blood splatter near one of the front tires, markings on the front bumper consistent with hitting a bicycle and parts missing, which investigators said were the same parts found at the scene.
Dona Ana County jail records show Skaggs was booked on Wednesday afternoon and remains jailed without a bond.
RECOMMENDED: Noises in an empty Mesilla home led to discovery of burglar naked in bathtub
About Skaggs
On the official website of the Republican Party of New Mexico, Skaggs was listed as the treasurer before she was removed.
KFOX14/CBS4 has reached out to the Republican Party to learn more and are waiting for a comment regarding the arrest.
Also, according to election statistics, Skaggs ran for State Representative in District 36 in 2022 and 2024, losing both times to Democrat Nathan P. Small.
Sign up to receive the top interesting stories from in and around our community once daily in your inbox.
SANTA FE, N.M. – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham asked Attorney General Raúl Torrez to investigate whether any Drug Enforcement Administration agents broke state law when pills reached New Mexico streets.
In a statement, Lujan Grisham said, “make no mistake: the DEA knew people would die if these pills made it into New Mexico communities.”
The governor also shared a timeline from 2022 to 2025 that she said shows when she asked federal officials for help with New Mexico’s fentanyl crisis and violent crime.
Lujan Grisham said the first request came on June 21, 2022, when she wrote to then-Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray and asked for 50 additional federal agents.
She said she wrote to then-Attorney General Merrick Garland on Sept. 15, 2022, asking for more agents, resources and support for New Mexico law enforcement.
Lujan Grisham said she wrote Garland a second time on Aug. 8, 2023, with the same request.
What came next?
About a month later, Lujan Grisham said she sent Garland a third letter and said New Mexico needed more federal law enforcement to curb violent crime, drug trafficking and human trafficking.
She said her most recent request came on Sept. 4, 2025, when she wrote to former Attorney General Pam Bondi and again asked for additional agents and resources.
The governor’s statement says those requests span several years as she pressed the federal government for more help in New Mexico.
Full statement from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham:
“I am appalled by reporting this week by the Associated Press and Albuquerque Journal that revealed federal authorities made a deliberate decision to let hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills flood into New Mexico communities, despite knowing that fentanyl is so lethal the White House has designated it a weapon of mass destruction.
Let me say that again: the Drug Enforcement Administration watched as 74,000 fentanyl pills were delivered to a mobile home park in Albuquerque, and they did nothing. And that’s just one transaction. Shockingly, the federal government stood by while monitoring shipments, tallying exact pill counts, and watching as these deadly drugs hit the streets.
There are no words to describe how reckless and dangerous these decisions were. Make no mistake: the DEA knew people would die if these pills made it into New Mexico communities, and the agency let it happen anyway. The result: hundreds of New Mexican parents burying their kids. Hundreds of New Mexican kids growing up without stable parents. All while the federal government stood by.
If the justification for letting these pills flood our communities was that it would somehow make New Mexico safer down the road through bigger eventual busts, the results say otherwise. New Mexico now leads the nation in the increase in overdose deaths for the second straight year, despite deaths dropping nationwide.
Today, I wrote to Attorney General Raúl Torrez and asked him to investigate whether any federal agents broke state law when they allowed lethal drugs to remain on our streets, and to prosecute anyone responsible — regardless of whether they are a federal agent or not.
I have spent years working across two administrations — writing letters, traveling to Washington, meeting directly with President Joe Biden and his cabinet, pushing for accountability, asking for more federal agents to be deployed to New Mexico to help fight this crisis.
- On June 21, 2022, I wrote to FBI Director Christopher Wray, imploring the FBI to assign no less than 50 additional agents to New Mexico to stem escalating drug trafficking and violent crime.
- On September 15, 2022, I wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland, requesting that the Department of Justice provide additional federal agents, resources and support to New Mexico law enforcement. We asked the department to match the level of investigative, analytical, and technical resources the FBI had deployed in its Buffalo, NY surge.
- On August 8, 2023, I wrote again to Attorney General Garland, renewing my request that the DOJ expeditiously assign more federal agents to New Mexico.
- On September 7, 2023, I wrote to Attorney General Garland for a third time, reiterating my request once more federal law enforcement support to curb violent crime, drug and human trafficking.
- On September 4, 2025, I wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi, once again requesting additional agents and resources.
I have declared the surge of drugs like fentanyl to be a public health emergency. I have deployed the National Guard to both Albuquerque and Española. While my administration was doing everything we could to stem the tide of fentanyl coming into our state, the federal government deliberately allowed it to flood in.
New Mexican lives are not the federal government’s cost of doing business.
I plan to hold the federal government accountable for this disaster and will explore every possible avenue of action against the federal government to right these wrongs.”
-
Augusta, GA3 minutes agoAugusta leaders take another look at downtown paid parking
-
Washington, D.C7 minutes agoDC unveils new government website to ‘eliminate alphabet soup’ – WTOP News
-
Cleveland, OH12 minutes agoKoby Altman Admits Meleek Thomas Doesn’t Perfectly Fit Cavs’ Roster
-
Austin, TX19 minutes agoWhen and where can I pop fireworks in Texas?
-
Alabama21 minutes agoDale County superintendent named Alabama’s superintendent of the year
-
Alaska26 minutes agoAlaska, Hawaiian Airlines expand free Wi-Fi on flights
-
Arizona34 minutes agoArizona Lottery Pick 3 Evening, Fantasy 5 results for June 25, 2026
-
Arkansas36 minutes agoDeGray Lake Resort State Park offers a week’s worth of summer fun in Arkansas
