BY REP. CHRISTINE CHANDLER

Editor’s note: The following is the address given by Rep. Chandler at Saturday’s No Kings Rally in Los Alamos

I know that it’s all too easy to feel overwhelmed and depressed by the chaos and cruelty we have all witnessed over the last year and a half, but that is exactly what folks like Donald Trump and Stephen Miller want: They want us to be afraid, to become numb, and ultimately, to lose our sense of hope and our compassion for one another.

We’re all here today because we are not going to let them take that away from us, because that is part of who we are as New Mexicans. We share a belief in working hard, taking case of our families, and looking out for our neighbors.

New Mexico has the compassion, the values and the vision to not only find out way out of these dark times, but to show the rest of the country the way forward, too. That’s why House Democrats passed the Immigrant Safety Act (again) in the first days of this recent session and why we are so grateful that this bill finally got across the finish line this year. This will get our state and local governments out of the business of contracting with ICE to detain innocent people in deplorable conditions, AND it prevents ICE from deputizing local police for immigration enforcement. This is not just the right thing to do – it makes our communities safer by reassuring our immigrant neighbors that they don’t need to be afraid to seek help from local law enforcement when they need it.

We also formally established the Office of New Americans to help support immigrant workers and their families to integrate into our workforce and our communities. This is an investment in the people who have chosen to make New Mexico their home and who contribute $771 million in state and local taxes and $5.6 billion in spending power to our economy. 

Additionally, we protected your personal information in MVD systems and routine surveillance data from misuse by folks like ICE. And in the coming months, we are going to keep stepping up as a state to make sure all of our friends and neighbors feel safe in their communities.

We’re also not going to let our seniors go hungry, or our children go without healthcare, or allow our clinics to close, because here in New Mexico, we take care of one another and will continue to do so – no matter what Trump throws our way.

We may not know all that the future holds – but we’re ready to protect our people, and we
we will continue to show the nation what it looks like to lead the way forward with values, vision, and compassion.