Vasquez criticizes Trump policies impacting southern New Mexico

Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News

LAS CRUCES - U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez said Friday that recent executive orders and policy proposals from former President Donald Trump’s administration could have sweeping consequences for New Mexico — particularly in the state’s southern counties.

In a virtual press call with reporters, Vasquez addressed a range of concerns, including proposed military activity along the U.S.–Mexico border, cuts to the Department of Education and food programs, and restrictions affecting access to Social Security.

Border militarization plan draws criticism

Vasquez began the call by expressing concern over a proposal to deploy U.S. Department of Defense personnel along nearly 180 miles of the New Mexico–Mexico border.

“This is something new that we haven't seen before,” Vasquez said. “The proposal from the administration is basically to operate some type of Department of Defense operation along some very remote stretches of the border, all the way from the Bootheel to Santa Teresa.”

He called the plan “wrongheaded” and said it reflects a misunderstanding of what is actually needed to secure the border.

“I really wish the administration would take some time to both talk to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, to talk to local landowners and to talk to folks about just the operational needs that we have,” Vasquez said. “It's really rooted in technology, our ports of entry. … We shouldn’t be siphoning off resources from the Department of Defense to create some type of political sideshow here.”

Vasquez later added that such a deployment would “have a very negligible impact on the overall migration trends” in rural areas and would likely amount to “a waste of taxpayer dollars.”

Education funding at risk under executive order

Vasquez said a new executive order targeting the U.S. Department of Education could result in a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars for New Mexico.

“We are at risk of losing nearly half a billion dollars — about $621 million worth of Department of Education funding,” he said, noting that the state is among the most reliant on federal education dollars. “That includes to our tribes, to Title IX programs and others that we're very concerned about.”

Responding to a question about the impact on special education students, Vasquez said his understanding is that IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) funds would remain in place, but that his office is still reviewing the details.

“I think we have to have a better understanding of what this gutting of the Department of Education actually entails,” he said.

He emphasized that while the president can severely restrict the department’s ability to spend money, eliminating it entirely would require congressional action.

Cuts to food assistance could deepen food insecurity

As a member of the House Agriculture Committee, Vasquez highlighted recent changes at the U.S. Department of Agriculture that he said would negatively affect local food banks.

“The Local Food Assistance Program has just been put on the chopping block by USDA,” he said. “Local food banks — places like Roadrunner Food Bank, La Semilla Food Center and others — are no longer able to receive federal funding to distribute funds to local food banks, which is a huge issue.”

Vasquez called the move “a misguided attempt to cut government waste, fraud and abuse” that fails to consider the state’s high rates of food insecurity.

Access to Social Security threatened for rural seniors

Vasquez also warned about a potential policy change that would require in-person identity verification at Social Security offices — something he said would disproportionately hurt seniors in rural communities.

“It would make it nearly impossible for Social Security recipients to visit these Social Security offices and encounter long wait times instead of actually do that over the phone,” he said. “So it's just a backdoor way to cut Social Security out of our lives and to eventually privatize Social Security.”

Lack of transparency in immigration enforcement

Asked about reports of New Mexico residents apprehended by ICE without public disclosure, Vasquez said nearly 50 individuals were targeted recently in Roswell, Santa Fe and Albuquerque, but that his office has not been provided their names.

“The administration is trying to conduct these operations in secret,” he said. “They are trying to disappear folks essentially without federal oversight, especially within the judiciary system.”

Vasquez said he plans to reintroduce legislation to provide oversight for federal detention centers in his district.

“Many times what we have seen already in the last two months is that Americans are getting caught up in this — U.S. citizens, legal green card holders, Native Americans are being questioned and their tribal IDs aren't being validated,” he said.

Migrant deaths raise questions about coordination

Responding to a question about recent migrant deaths along the border, Vasquez described his conversations with U.S. Border Patrol and the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office.

“There’s some jurisdictional issues at play here,” he said. “Many of the migrants who were found unfortunately deceased in the desert … are suffering from dehydration, from exposure to the elements.”

He said the state’s Office of the Medical Investigator is responsible for investigating these deaths, but that interagency coordination is crucial.

“We have to get to the bottom of why this is happening,” Vasquez said. “We haven’t seen these numbers ever in New Mexico.”

Healthcare access concerns at Ben Archer clinics

Vasquez also addressed reports that Ben Archer Health Center had previously turned away undocumented patients. He said the organization has since changed course.

“They are no longer barring any person that comes into any of their clinics, especially their rural clinics, with regard to their documentation status,” he said.

Legal challenges may be only recourse on education order

Asked if anything could be done to reverse the executive order dismantling the Department of Education, Vasquez said the courts would likely decide its fate.

“Only Congress can eliminate it, and so we will continue to look and work with our Democratic leadership to figure out how we can actually rebuild and strengthen the department,” he said. “In the meantime, we'll continue to work with Republicans as well who are going to be affected … by this decision.”

Damien Willis is founder and editor of Organ Mountain News. He can be reached at OrganMountainNews@gmail.com or on X at @damienwillis.