The New Mexican Delegation of Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan and Representatives Teresa Leger Fernandez, Melanie Stansbury, and Gabe Vasquez have spoken in support of a $16.6 million dollar award for the state from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
This financial support is going to New Mexican organizations that assist the customs and border protection agency in maintaining order at the border.
One of the priorities in this move is to help asylum seekers who are lawfully processed into the United States.
This funding is being provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and customs and border protection through the shelter and services program.
The New Mexican delegation supported this program which secured $650 million nationally to support border maintenance through the Fiscal Year 2024 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill.
Of this award, over $15 million will be supporting the border servant corps in Doña Ana County, nearly $1 million is going to the El Calvario Methodist Church in Doña Ana County, and over half a million is for the city of Albuquerque.
The Department of Homeland Security can support state, local, and non-profit providers through the Shelter and Services Program, to provide amenities to individuals and families after they leave custody and are awaiting their immigration court proceedings.
The Shelter and Services Program is the successor to Senator Heinrich’s bipartisan negotiations in 2019 to authorize the reimbursement of funds for non-government organizations and local groups nationally under the existing Emergency Food and Shelter program at FEMA.
Senator Heinrich said, “I’m grateful to the many New Mexicans who have stepped up to help migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers who have arrived in our country, abiding by all of the requirements of our asylum system. But our local communities, churches, and nonprofits should not have to bear the financial burden of our nation’s broken immigration system. That’s why I spearheaded the original bipartisan effort to deliver funding for these organizations, and it’s why I am pleased to deliver these Shelter and Services Program funds now to continue supporting our communities.”
Representative Stansbury said,” "Our immigration system is broken, and we must work to secure the bipartisan immigration reform that Americans want."
