Free Republic

The mayoral race focused largely on Albuquerque’s crime rate, homelessness, housing and economic development. Keller, a Democrat who has served in the state Legislature and as state auditor, defended his record as mayor and his knowledge of the issues, emphasizing the need for follow-through. White said he offered a change of pace to voters to “clean up the mess” the incumbent’s administration has created. Keller was elected to his first mayoral term in 2017. He will face off against former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White in a Dec. 9 runoff election, which occurs when no candidate receives 50% of the...

A woman is behind bars six years after she allegedly stabbed a man to death at a home in Southeast Albuquerque. Antionette Hernandez, 29, was arrested Thursday and charged with an open count of murder and criminal trespass in the 2019 killing of 38-year-old Eric Lewis. Hernandez does not yet have an attorney. Lewis’ stabbing went unsolved for six years after the detective on the case was promoted to sergeant, according to court records. The case was assigned to an investigator for review before it was transferred to a homicide detective in April 2025. Prosecutors on Friday filed a...

COLUMBUS, N.M. (AP) — Orange no-entry signs posted by the U.S. military in English and Spanish dot the New Mexico desert, where a border wall cuts past onion fields and parched ranches with tufts of tall grass growing amidst wiry brush and yucca trees.The Army has posted thousands of the warnings in New Mexico and western Texas, declaring a “restricted area by authority of the commander.” It’s part of a major shift that has thrust the military into border enforcement with Mexico like never before.The move places long stretches of the border under the supervision of nearby military bases, empowering...

There is one chair in the room, and they sit him in it. He pulls out his wallet. He's looking for a number. A phone number, an address. That is why he is here. Fernando the lawyer. Fernando the drug trafficker. He's got a load of marijuana, and they want it.Fernando thinks he's in the company of friends. He thinks this man standing in front of him, this Lalo, is going to deliver the marijuana for him to New York. That's what the numbers are for. They are contacts. They are the people Lalo will call, the people who are...

A state of emergency has been declared in New Mexico's largest city, as the governor calls in the National Guard to help combat out of control crime.

The Republican Party of New Mexico's headquarters in Albuquerque was intentionally set on fire in an act of arson and vandalized with a spray-painted phrase "ICE=KKK." Why It Matters During his 2024 campaign, President Donald Trump promised mass deportations of undocumented and criminal migrants, a policy that has been shown to be popular among voters across the political spectrum, before and after the election. However, the administration has faced backlash for invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, allowing the administration to deport noncitizens without the opportunity for a hearing before an immigration or federal court judge, and for revoking...

After a storied career, that included over 70 film credits and two Academy Awards, Gene retired from film in 2004, after making his last appearance in Welcome to Mooseport. Five years after trading in the lights of Hollywood for a quieter life in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his wife Betsy Arakawa—and 16 years before his death at the age of 95—the French Connection star finally explained why. “The straw that broke the camel’s back was actually a stress test that I took in New York,” Gene said in an interview with Empire magazine published in 2009. “The doctor advised...

A travel influencer declared that Albuquerque, New Mexico owns the 'most frightful neighborhood in America' after he was stunned by what he witnessed on a trip there. YouTuber Nick Johnson, who has built a following of over 1.1 million subscribers by visiting the most squalid areas of the country, shared his astonishment during a visit to Albuquerque's squalid International District. Known as 'The War Zone' by locals, the area is littered with homeless encampments and open-air drug taking. 'Oh my god, oh my god,' Johnson said to himself as he filmed the streets filled with gangs, homeless people and trash....

As Tax Day approaches on April 15, a new WalletHub report ranks New Mexico dead last in the nation for taxpayer return on investment (ROI), raising serious questions about how effectively state government uses public funds. The annual study from WalletHub evaluated all 50 states using 29 metrics across five key categories: education, health, safety, economy, and infrastructure & pollution. New Mexico ranked 50th overall despite having one of the highest tax burdens in the country. The state placed near the bottom in nearly every category: 49th in education 42nd in health 50th in safety 45th in economy 34th in...

Last September, the FBI released its national crime statistics for 2023. The numbers for New Mexico can be described only as catastrophic.New Mexico had the highest per capita rate for violent crime of any state at 7.8 incidents per thousand and the highest rate for any state for property crime at 29.84 per thousand. Violent crime includes the offenses of aggravated assault, homicide, rape, and robbery. Property crime includes arson, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft.I wanted to do a deeper dive into the crime stats for New Mexico’s five largest cities and compare those stats to the national averages...

A shooting just outside Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico left one airman dead and another hospitalized early Saturday morning, the Air Force said. Members of the 377th Security Forces Squadron responded to an incident at the Albuquerque base’s Truman Gate around 2 a.m. Saturday. The airman was found dead at the scene, the Air Force said. The second wounded airman was shot in the hand and has been released from the hospital, the Air Force said in the release. In an update, the Air Force said an incident led to an off-base pursuit that resulted in the shooting....

The Supreme Court of New Mexico unanimously struck down restrictive abortion access policies in local counties on Thursday. Despite the state having criminalized abortion for over 57 years, New Mexico has now become one of the most liberal states in regard to abortion rights. Writing for the unanimous judgment, Justice C. Shannon Bacon stated in her concluding sentences that the controversial ordinances violate state laws and interfere with the legislature’s ability to regulate access to reproductive health. The Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham praised the justices for their ruling and celebrated that New Mexico will remain a safe haven for individual...

Democratic presidential candidates have won seven of the last eight general elections in New Mexico, but results from Tuesday’s election show that the state followed similar gains made by Trump nationwide. Trump — who lost New Mexico by about 8 percentage points in 2016 and nearly 11 percentage points in 2020 — cut into that deficit, and did so in historically Democratic counties as well as Republican strongholds, according to unofficial results from The Associated Press. “That is a breakthrough for the Republicans at the presidential level,” said New Mexico-based political columnist Joe Monahan as ballots were being tallied. “Where...

Residents of the Village of Ruidoso are under an emergency mandatory evacuation order due to wildfires in the area. The South Fork Fire and the Salt Fire are burning on Mescalero tribal land, near Ruidoso, according to the New Mexico Forestry Division. Residents should evacuate immediately without gathering belongings or attempting to protect their homes., officials with the Village of Ruidoso shared via social media at 6:54 p.m. on Monday, June 17. Several roads are closed, including Highway 48 and Highway 70 at Apache Summit. The only evacuation route is Sudderth to Highway 70 out to Roswell. A fire warning...

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's bid to block lawful concealed carry in public parks in the state's most populous city and county took a major hit on Monday when the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected her request to stay a lower court injunction and allow law enforcement to start issuing civil fines to licensed concealed carry holders caught with a pistol in parks in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. Firearms Policy Coalition @gunpolicy · Follow LEGAL ALERT: The Tenth Circuit has denied the New Mexico Governor's motion to stay the preliminary injunction against her public park carry ban, which...

Joe Biden and the United Nations are pulling off one of the worst security threats to the United States in its 248-year history. ... According to the former director of Panama’s National Border Service, the U.N.'s migration agenda is behind the insanity along the southern border, and the world body's NGO (non-governmental organizations) partners are intentionally making the crisis worse. Oriel Ortega, now a security and defense consultant to Panamanian President Laurentino Cortizo, told the Epoch Times during an interview on Thursday that he saw a dramatic jump in immigration in 2016, at the same time that NGOs moved into...

Democrats in New Mexico’s House of Representatives are weighing an “assault weapons” ban and two-week waiting period on gun purchases, along with other requirements that closely mirror controls that have been in place in California for years. On January 13, 2024, Breitbart News reported that New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) was pushing the two week waiting period and other controls, including the ability for New Mexicans to sue gun manufacturers. Grisham also wanted an expansion of gun-free zones in which even licensed concealed carriers would be prohibited from being armed for self-defense.

Two Republican state lawmakers in New Mexico filed a resolution Wednesday to impeach Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, accusing her of breaking her oath to the U.S. Constitution over her use of emergency public health orders to restrict the right to carry firearms in some public places. Reps. Stefani Lord and John Block claim that with the restriction, Lujan Grisham infringed upon the rights of New Mexicans. "The rights of New Mexicans are not up for debate, and no matter how hard Lujan Grisham tries to violate the Constitution, she will never succeed," Lord said in a statement. "I stood...

Texas dominates U.S. oil production, contributing 42.6% of the total output, mainly due to the Permian Basin.New Mexico has seen dramatic 190% increase in oil production over the past five years, becoming the second-leading oil producer in the U.S.California faces a 30.7% reduction in oil production over the past five years, largely due to political and geological challenges.U.S. oil production has increased by 21% over the past five years. According to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), earlier this month U.S. oil producers set a new annual production record.This increase is being driven by a surge of production in...

In an unsurprising turn of events, the all-Democrat New Mexico Supreme Court upheld New Mexico’s extremely gerrymandered congressional map, dubbed by many as the “Frankenmap.” The Court dismissed claims by the GOP that it favored Democrats excessively. The lawsuit, filed by New Mexico Republicans, argued that the state legislature’s redrawing of the map amounted to a Democratic gerrymander, violating the state’s constitution. This redistricting occurred before the 2022 midterms, and the alterations aimed to shift the 2nd Congressional District, previously leaning Republican, toward a more Democratic profile. The contested district is currently held by Democrat Rep. Gabe Vasquez*, who secured...