While state legislators held floor sessions inside the Roundhouse, an estimated one thousand plus people were just outside the building for the annual Immigrant and Workers Day of Action.
Reports of immigrant arrests and detentions around the country and in New Mexico since late January heightened the urgency of the yearly gathering, this time around featuring as speakers leaders of nonprofits, state and local politicians, and members of the community.
Holding yesterday’s rally at the Roundhouse was a purposeful choice, as several speakers referenced proposed immigration legislation.
One of them was deputy director of the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, Teague Gonzalez.
“ New Mexico is home to three detention centers and maybe a fourth in the southeast part of the state if they get the expansion that they want,” Gonzalez said.
“We know that the conditions inside these centers are some of the worst in the whole country. The Immigrant Safety Act will end New Mexico's involvement in a corrupt ICE detention system that shields outside private contractors from accountability.”
Others addressing the crowd included Speaker of the House Javier Martinez, Representative Tara Lujan, and state senator Harold Pope Jr.
Santa Fe District 3 City Councilor Pilar Faulkner said she and her fellow council members would fight against the changes unfolding in Washington.
“ So what's happening now in our country is fascist and it's the beginning of a fascist regime, and if we do not all stand together and toe the line, it will continue to every other population until we're a fascist state,” Faulkner said.
Jessica Martinez, an immigration attorney and director of policy for the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, said her organization is working with several others to advocate for a platform of about 11 measures.
One of them, the U-Visa certification bill, would protect survivors of qualifying crimes and provide a pathway for permanent status.
