March 4 (UPI) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a handful of public safety measures on Monday that strengthen restrictions on gun ownership and penalties for violent crimes.
The Democratic governor signed the four bills during a press conference at Albuquerque’s West Mesa High School, where in October two students were found in possession of firearms.
“This legislation strikes at the heart of issues that are keeping New Mexicans up at night,” Grisham said in a statement.
“We are losing far too many lives when guns get into the wrong hands and violent criminals are allowed to recommit again and again. This legislation addresses both.”
Among the legislation signed was Senate Bill 5, which prohibits carrying firearms within 100 feet of polling and ballot dropoff locations, with exceptions in place for those with concealed-carry permits.
With the passing of the law, New Mexico joins 11 other states as well as Washington, D.C., which have bans on guns in polling stations, according to the Movement Advancement Project.
“Guns and voting are a toxic mix,” New Mexico Senate majority leader Peter Wirth, a Democrat, said in a statement. “As elections have become known targets for threats and intimidation, it’s important we are enacting this legislation ahead of the upcoming election cycle.”
Grisham also signed House Bill 129 into law that doubles the current state waiting period to purchase a weapon to seven days, which also includes exemptions for concealed-carry permit holders and those with a Federal Fire Arms License, as well as law enforcement.
The two violent crime-related bills Grisham signed Monday were S.B. 96, which strengthens penalties for 2nd-degree murder-related offices, and S.N. 271, which mandates judges to hold certain violent defendants without bond if they are accused of having committed another felony while out on bond for a previous violent offense.
“It’s time we treat crime like the serious problem it is in New Mexico,” Grisham said published on X, along with a picture of herself during the Monday news conference.
“That’s why today I signed four bills that will help make our state safer.”
In September, following the shooting death of an 11-year-old boy at a baseball game, Grisham declared gun violence a public health emergency in an effort to reduce violence and have local officials request emergency state funding to tackle the problem.
She also initiated the Bernalillo County Violence Crime Reduction Operation for that area, which, as of Jan. 31, has resulted in more than 4,800 arrests and the seizure of nearly 350 firearms.
According to statistics from the governor’s office, New Mexico’s firearm-related death rate has climbed 87% from 2011 to 2021.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico plans to build new gates at four campus entrances along Central that will close nightly.
The gates will replace manual barriers in a project expected to cost about $1.5 million.
The Board of Regents approved the security upgrades for the UNM campus.
University officials said the gates will automatically close nightly from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The gates will go in near Princeton Drive, Stanford Drive, Yale Boulevard and Terrace Street on the south end of campus.
A current rendering shows the gate completely blocking the road. Officials said the change will reduce unauthorized traffic and allow police officers to focus more effectively on prevention and response.
Construction will start in May. University officials hope to finish the project by September.
A 9-year-old boy who begged to be released from an immigration detention center so he could attend his state spelling bee has been freed with his family, their lawyer said Wednesday.
Deiver Henao Jimenez made the plea during a video call this month with children’s entertainer Ms. Rachel, whose real name is Rachel Accurso.
“I don’t want to be here anymore,” Deiver said on the call, which was later shared on Accurso’s social media pages. “Nothing is good here.”
He and his parents, asylum-seekers from Colombia, had been held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas since early March, when they were detained during a routine immigration check-in in New Mexico, according to their lawyer, Corey Sullivan Martin.
ICE freed the family on humanitarian parole Wednesday, about a week after Martin filed a request for their release and days after NBC News reported on their case.
His elementary school principal wrote a letter in mid-March supporting the family’s release, which was later delivered to immigration officials, describing Deiver as “a dedicated student with excellent attendance and high marks.”
Sullivan Martin said Deiver is eager to return to school, rejoin his gifted and talented classes and get back to practicing his spelling words.
“I don’t see how it was necessary at all to detain a child who was doing exactly what we want children to do,” Sullivan Martin said.
The family planned to return to New Mexico, she said, where they will continue checking in with immigration officials while their case proceeds.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Deiver was released a day after ICE freed another child whose case drew widespread attention following a video call with Accurso. Gael, a 5-year-old boy with developmental disabilities, had experienced worsening medical issues while he was detained at Dilley, his parents said.
The facility has faced growing scrutiny from immigration lawyers and advocates, who say children there have struggled to access adequate medical care and education in an environment where lights remain on around the clock and officers stand guard. Some families have described poor food and long waits for medical attention.
DHS has disputed those accounts, saying families are provided appropriate care in a facility designed for their needs.
After her video meetings with the children, Accurso — known for her signature pink headband and singsong delivery — called for Dilley to be shut down and for families to be returned to their communities.
During their conversation, Deiver told Accurso he missed his friends and said the food at Dilley made his stomach hurt. But he was most worried about getting out in time to compete in New Mexico’s state spelling bee in May after he earned a spot by placing third at a regional competition.
“We’re trying to get a child out of a jail to do a spelling bee,” Accurso said last week. “I just never thought those words would go together.”
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