Immigrants strengthen our communities. Through comprehensive reform, we will create humane and non-discriminatory asylum and immigration systems that keep families together and ensure attainable paths to citizenship. We must prepare our communities and institutions to welcome immigrants and asylum seekers migrating due to climate change, globalization, political persecution, and violence. Non-citizens must be afforded the same human and legal rights as U.S. citizens, including access to quality education, health care, a living wage, and worker protections.

We Affirm

1. We are a nation of immigrants and are strengthened by our immigrant communities. As such, immigrants are entitled to equitable human rights and civil liberties; and

2. Immigration is a defining aspect of the American character and our shared history, not a problem to be solved; and

3. Applying for asylum is not a crime; the asylum process should have its own dedicated administrative process separate from the enforcement and adjudication of immigration law; and

4. People fleeing from war, violence, oppression, famine, resource insecurity, and/or the effects of climate change are welcome to and have the legal right to apply for asylum and should be allowed to stay in the U.S. while they wait for a determination of their status; and

5. We reject the narrative that immigrants can simply “get in line” and apply for legal U.S. citizenship and temporary protections, such as asylum because the current pathways are inaccessible and discriminatory; and

6. Unifying and keeping immigrant families intact is good for people, families, and our country; and

7. The human rights of every person living or working in the U.S., regardless of citizenship status, must be ensured; and

8. Targeted harassment, unlawful seizures, detainment and/or caging of children, family separation, and other abuses of undocumented immigrants must cease; and

9. Discriminatory practices against marginalized detainees, including LGBTQ+, transgender, and faith-based individuals, must cease; and

10. Enforcement of immigration laws must be reasonable, humane, and compassionate; and

11. There should be no religious test for immigrants or refugees to enter the U.S.; andImmigration policies should not be racist or bigoted; and

12. Border communities are some of the most culturally diverse and economically vibrant areas in our nation; and

13. Our commitment to policies that provide immigrants a path to citizenship and promote their quality of life; and

14. People are forced to migrate due to the consequences of global capitalism, U.S. and other foreign intervention and policy, trade agreements, climate, and the history of colonialism; and

15. Health is an inalienable right, and our elected leaders must ensure all New Mexicans have access to affordable, comprehensive medical care, regardless of legal status; and

16. Free legal and adequate representation should be provided for people in the U.S. who are navigating the immigration system; and

17. That all resident immigrants in the U.S. should be granted a work visa to enable them to provide for themselves and their families while living in the U.S. regardless of how they entered the U.S. This immigrant population is already working and supporting the U.S. economy and legalizing immigrant labor will quickly create legitimacy for these workers; and

18. The Migrant Protection Protocols are detrimental to immigrants and this policy must be ended; and

19. Categorically barring people from citizenship or residency based on national origin or racial identities should be prohibited; and

20. To rebuild our immigration systems and demand an end to indiscriminate immigration detention and abuses at the border and by enforcement agencies, and to eliminate sources of fear and existing barriers that prevent immigrants from accessing services available to them; and

21. All New Mexico residents’ sensitive personal information must be protected from being shared with law enforcement by agencies without a warrant; and

22. Immigrant and refugee populations face unique challenges during public health emergencies. Non-citizens in the U.S. face significant hurdles in accessing life-saving services and resources in health care, testing, treatment, and economic assistance because of fear and often ineligibility.

We Will

1. Ensure that the U.S. upholds its moral responsibility to be a refuge for people from around the world seeking asylum, and institute a process that is just and equitable; and

2. Oppose profiteering by privatized law enforcement and the security industry in border enforcement; and

3. Require that any facility used to hold people who are undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers must be open to inspection by the Red Cross and members of Congress; and

4. Oppose the deportations of immigrants who served in our armed forces and create a faster path for such veterans to citizenship; and

5. Expand the definition of family for asylum seekers to include grandparents, stepparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, and legal guardians so that families are not separated; and

6. Establish additional and protect existing sanctuary cities, counties, and states that oppose and prohibit the use of local law enforcement for immigration enforcement, which is a federal responsibility; and

7. Oppose the use of excessive force and violations of human rights on our border, and the dehumanization of people seeking entry to our country; and

8. Oppose the funding or building of the Border Wall; and

9. Help increase immigrants’ understanding of their existing rights and eligibility to use life-saving health services; expand the rights and access to the resources to thrive; and end detrimental practices of immigration enforcement, detention, and border policies that heighten exposure to public health threats; and

10. Deny the use of private prisons for immigration enforcement because profiting on the detention of immigrants incentivizes corrupt immigration policy; and

11. Abolish private prisons in New Mexico and stop the horrors of abuses in immigration detention; 

12. Expand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans executive actions (or similar laws) that will help DREAMers, parents of citizens, and lawful permanent residents avoid deportation and pursue a pathway to citizenship; and

13. Support a path to citizenship for immigrant youth who have yet to be granted status; andDismantle cruel and inhumane deportation programs and detention centers and reunite families who have been separated; and

14. Challenge and reject divisive and derogatory language toward immigrants; and

15. Fight for wage protections, protect against wage theft, and ensure tax equity for immigrant workers; and

16. Support the United Nations in saying that a country will be in breach of its human rights obligations if it returns climate refugees to a country where—due to the climate crisis—their life is at risk; and

17. Eliminate the mandatory quotas for detaining immigrants for profit; and

18. Oppose the use of prison labor in immigrant detention facilities; and

19. End mandatory minimum sentences for immigrant detainees; and

20. Limit spending on U.S. Customs and Border Protection (border patrol) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agencies; and

21. Require the border patrol agents to comply with the same 4th Amendment search and seizure laws as other law enforcement agencies; and

22. Oppose racist ID laws that expose a resident's lawful status and that restrict people from obtaining a license based on their immigration status; and

23. Expand access to health care coverage, particularly Medicaid, for immigrant populations regardless of legal status; and

24. Expand the infrastructure and capacity in the U.S. to process and receive asylum seekers to help address the federal backlog of asylum cases by hiring more judges, lawyers, and administrative staff and decreasing the time for ruling on immigration requests; and

25. Dedicate resources to provide culturally appropriate legal representation for people in the U.S. who are navigating the immigration system, including adaptive, interpretation, and translation services; and

26. Allocate resources to community-based welcoming programs for asylum seekers and immigrant families, such as shelter, clothing, translation, food, and communication with and transportation to sponsors; and

27. Follow the lead of other states in allowing U.S. residents to vote in non-federal elections; and

28. Create a resident immigrant work visa program that immediately grants immigrants already living in the U.S. the legal right to work and support the U.S. economy regardless of how they entered the U.S.; and

29. Strengthen due process, reduce racial disparities, and end the disproportionately harsh consequences of criminal convictions in any future immigration legislation; and

30. Support the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, which will create the largest general legalization program in U.S. history for undocumented immigrants living in the U.S., as well as targeted legalization for recipients of existing immigration programs, e.g., DACA recipients, agricultural workers, essential critical infrastructure workers, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) individuals; and

31. Fully fund universal legal representation for New Mexico residents facing all immigration proceedings; and

32. Support immigration reform that incentivizes and promotes paths to citizenship that may include addressing naturalization fees and offering English language and citizenship courses in the workplace, libraries, and other civic institutions; and

33. Help increase immigrants’ understanding of their existing rights and eligibility to use life-saving health services, expand the rights and access to the resources to thrive, and end detrimental practices of immigration enforcement, detention, and border policies that heighten exposure to public health threats.