New Mexico
Walling Off New Mexico: It's Now Really A Thing | Colorado Pols
3 Comments- by: Colorado Pols
As Albuquerque’s KRQE-TV reports, what was once a running joke with its origin in various flubs committed by Republican politicians attempting to address immigration on the southern U.S. border, sometimes forgetting or misstating the state of New Mexico’s status as a U.S. state, now appears to be a highly questionable reality as the state of Texas installs razor wire along a portion of its border with the Land of Enchantment:
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Wednesday responded to the Texas National Guard installing razor wire along the Rio Grande facing New Mexico.
KRQE’s sister station, KTSM, captured video showing troops putting up concertina wire and fencing on the riverbank in the El Paso, Texas, area Tuesday afternoon. The expansion came three days after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott posted on X that the state would triple its razor-wire border barriers to “deny illegal entry into our state and our country.”
Gov. Lujan Grisham released the following statement about Texas’ actions:
Gov. Abbott seems to be pushing to make Texas its own country without regard for his neighbors or the fact that Texas is already part of a great nation—the United States. [Pols emphasis] If he doesn’t think that New Mexico is important to the overall well-being of Texas, then he must be forgetting about the Permian Basin and the oil industry that straddles our two states. I don’t see him laying concertina wire there.
Gov. Abbott’s latest political stunt at the border will have no meaningful impact on our nation’s broken immigration system. Only Congress can fix our federal immigration laws, and I implore Republicans in Congress to stop holding up the carefully negotiated, bipartisan agreement they are deliberately stalling in Washington at the expense of our entire nation.
Back in 2019, veteran readers will recall, now ex-President Donald Trump told supporters “We’re building a wall on the border of New Mexico and we’re building a wall in Colorado,” later claiming this was a reference to the supposed benefits to Colorado of his border wall instead of doing what everyone else would do and simply admitting he misspoke–much the same way the non-word “covfefe” became a word. A year before that, GOP gubernatorial loser Walker Stapleton ran a head-scratching ad that seemed to suggest the same thing. In both of these cases, we were able to laugh in the end because of course nobody would ever put up a wall between the borders of two U.S. states. Right?
After sending some 75,000 migrants to Colorado on busses among hundreds of thousands dispersed throughout the country as partisan political vengeance, Texas under Gov. Greg Abbott is building the wall against New Mexico that used to be the punchline of a late-night TV joke. It’s consistent with Abbott’s habit of pushing the boundaries of state power, defying any federal authority that tells him no including the U.S. Supreme Court. And, we’ll be the ones to say it, it’s a telling sign that citizenship is not what Abbott is worried about so much as ethnicity.
As of today, nobody can ever laugh the idea off again. The wall against New Mexico is no longer a bad joke.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A local business owner estimates he suffered about $1 million in damages as the result of yet another fire at a South Valley recycling plant.
Town Recycling on Broadway Blvd. SE has witnessed two fires in a span of less than two weeks with the first happening May 23rd and the second occurring Tuesday of this week.
Khalil Samaha, who owns Samcar, Inc. and Cedar’s Construction next door, says his businesses escaped without serious damage from the first fire, but the second one led to the loss of his main building, inventory he sells including trucks, construction equipment, computers, records, and much more.
“It’s a total mess. Everything is on the ground with water and insulation. It’s a total loss,” he said.
He gave KOB 4 a tour of his damaged property Wednesday and says that county officials have condemned the main office and won’t let him back inside.
“You can see all the glass is popped,” he said pointing to the windows. “I don’t know if the firefighters broke them or they exploded.”
A spokesperson for Bernalillo County Fire and Rescue issued a statement saying that, based on witness accounts, both fires may have started in a “bale of cardboard” at the recycling facility.
As of Wednesday evening, Broadway between Prosperity and Rio Bravo remained closed.
Samaha says firefighters attempted to battle the second fire from a different area than the first and the wind may have made conditions tougher.
“This time, the wind didn’t help,” he said. “So, it was blowing in my direction and took the building and some equipment in the back.”
Having seen two fires at the neighboring recycling facility in a span of about 11 days, he wonders if this will finally be the end of it.
“I hope it’s the last time. But, worried? Yes, we are worried,” he said. “We are close to them, and the materials are close to the fence. We share the fence together, so it’s always in the back of your mind.”
And now he lives with the memory of how quickly everything can change – just like it did earlier this week.
“It was very quick. From the smoke to the flame to the fire, it was very, very quick.”
A representative of Town Recycling declined our request for an interview.
LAS VEGAS, N.M. – New Mexico Highlands University President Niel Woolf has sued the school, claiming leaders pushed him to redirect a $600,000 contract to a chairman’s friend.
Woolf filed the lawsuit after the university placed him on administrative leave at the beginning of May.
He says Board of Regents Chair Frank Sanchez told him to cancel a $600,000 agreement with an out-of-state contractor and give it to a local contractor.
Woolf says that company is led by a friend of both Sanchez and his brother-in-law, Sen. Pete Campos, who represents Las Vegas.
In the lawsuit, Woolf says Sanchez told him directing the funds to his friend would “go a long way towards securing money for the University from Senator Campos,” said Woolf.
Woolf is seeking damages and attorney’s fees under the New Mexico Whistleblower Protection Act.
CHAMA, N.M. – The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad will begin its summer season on Tuesday, June 9, after the railroad delayed its opening due to drought and wildfire danger.
The season was initially set to begin on May 23. The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad Commission said it would conduct a review on June 2 to determine if it was safe enough to begin operations.
“A sincere thank you to all our passengers and the communities in Chama and Antonito who have been so patient as we waited for conditions to improve,” said Eric Mason, CEO of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. “We are excited to welcome guests back aboard and hear the opening whistle signal the start of another memorable season.”
The railroad will hold a Grand Opening Celebration on Saturday, June 13, in Chama. The celebration will coincide with Chama Western Heritage Days, a community festival that weekend with live music, vendors, and rodeo competitions.
The railroad recently won USA TODAY’S poll for the best scenic train ride in the country. In celebration of the win, the railroad said passengers who book by June 7 ca receive a 25% discount on coach tickets for trips through August. Guests must redeem the offer by calling the railroad at 888-286-2737 using promo code USATODAY#1.
Tickets are also available for the first Dark Sky Train departures on June 12 from Chama and June 13 from Antonito. The dark sky trains include evening excursions led by international dark sky guides, and take passengers to secluded spots with minimal light pollution.
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