Immigration
Immigration
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.; and
12. Immigration policies should not be racist or bigoted; and
13. Border communities are some of the most culturally diverse and economically vibrant areas in our nation; and
14. Our commitment to policies that provide immigrants a path to citizenship and promote their quality of life; and
15. 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
16. 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
17. Free legal and adequate representation should be provided for people in the U.S. who are navigating the
immigration system; and
18. 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
19. The Migrant Protection Protocols are detrimental to immigrants and this policy must be ended; and
20. Categorically barring people from citizenship or residency based on national origin or racial identities should be
prohibited; and
21. 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
22. All New Mexico residents’ sensitive personal information must be protected from being shared with law
enforcement by agencies without a warrant; and
23. 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; and
14. Dismantle cruel and inhumane deportation programs and detention centers and reunite families who have been
separated; and
15. Challenge and reject divisive and derogatory language toward immigrants; and
16. Fight for wage protections, protect against wage theft, and ensure tax equity for immigrant workers; and
17. 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
18. Eliminate the mandatory quotas for detaining immigrants for profit; and
19. Oppose the use of prison labor in immigrant detention facilities; and
20. End mandatory minimum sentences for immigrant detainees; and
21. Limit spending on U.S. Customs and Border Protection (border patrol) and U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) agencies; and
22. Require the border patrol agents to comply with the same 4th Amendment search and seizure laws as other law
enforcement agencies; and
23. 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
24. Expand access to health care coverage, particularly Medicaid, for immigrant populations regardless of legal
status; and
25. 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
26. 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
27. Allocate resources to community-based welcoming programs for asylum seekers and immigrant families, such as
shelter, clothing, translation, and food, and communication with and transportation to sponsors; and
28. Follow the lead of other states in allowing U.S. residents to vote in non-federal elections; and
29. 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
30. Strengthen due process, reduce racial disparities, and end the disproportionately harsh consequences of criminal
convictions in any future immigration legislation; and
31. 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
32. Fully fund universal legal representation for New Mexico residents facing all immigration proceedings; and
33. 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
34. 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.
