Free Republic

Immigration! It is the hot-topic buzzword at the moment that no one really wants to talk honestly about. That is exactly why I must speak about it now. I have found in all my life experiences that dodging an issue only results in more complications down the road. For the record, I am the son of an immigrant. I am first-generation. My father first came to America working on a boat. At one point, he was deported back to his native land because of improper documentation procedures. It took him another eight years to become a legal, naturalized citizen of...

More than 100 religious leaders from around New Mexico have submitted an open letter to state legislators in support of a state law that lets those illegally in the country get New Mexico driver's licenses.

Armed citizens, upset by a government disarmament edict, confronted the Ruidoso, New Mexico city council Tuesday night in defiance of an executive order from the mayor banning guns on city property, KRQE reports. Yet despite what anchor Dick Knipfing describes as “powerful emotions,” dozens of armed citizens conducted themselves peaceably, controlling themselves and their anger against what activist and New Mexico Militia leader Bob Wright called the act of a “tyrant.” Larry Pratt of Gun Owners of America, who made a special point of flying in and appearing armed, offered a cogent rebuttal to Ruidoso Mayor Ray Alborn’s loopy contention...

Mayor bans firearms on public property. Citizens arm themselves, come to city council meeting and disobey the order. At one guy even slung an AR. Of course Larry Pratt and Bob Wright are in the middle of the resistance. Bob reports the cops were "VERY, VERY polite." With at least 80 armed citizens in the room that was probably a good idea.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Churches and religious groups opposing the governor's renewed push to repeal a law allowing illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses say their actions are part of a larger and growing advocacy effort aimed at promoting immigration reform on moral grounds. Organizations like the New Mexico Catholic Conference of Bishops and the Albuquerque Interfaith were among those in Santa Fe this week to protest Gov. Susana Martinez's efforts to rescind the state law. They argue the measure helps one of the state's most vulnerable populations. For months, these coalitions of interfaith groups have called on their members to attend rallies...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- Federal agents raided a southern New Mexico gun store Tuesday morning and arrested the owner, his wife and their two sons on a 30-count indictment accusing them of smuggling guns across the border with Mexico.

SANTA FE, New Mexico (Reuters) - A New Mexico judge on Wednesday blocked a move by the state's Republican governor to make it harder for illegal immigrants to keep driver's licenses in the state. Governor Susana Martinez's administration last month ordered the state to reverify the physical residency of foreign nationals who hold New Mexico driver's licenses in order to get or keep their licenses.But District Court Judge Sarah Singleton in Santa Fe issued a temporary restraining order blocking the program, arguing in a brief ruling that "irreparable injury" would occur from "constitutional deprivations to the applicants

New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez sure is near the top of my favorite governors list these days. While renewing her concealed carry permit recently, the first term governor received a perfect score and hit every target during the shooting portion of the exam with a .38 and .45 caliber handgun. Pure awesome. From the Las Cruces Sun-News:

Immigrant advocates are shaking their fingers at the three suspected Chinese crime ring leaders accused of selling New Mexico licenses. They are also planning a peaceful protest against Governor Susana Martinez' work to take away driver's licenses from illegal immigrants. A woman who helps the immigrant community live and thrive here in Albuquerque said she heard about the nearly four hundred indictments against the alleged Chinese crime ring leaders accused of illegally selling New Mexico driver's licenses. Bertha Campos works with illegal immigrants; making food and helping them earn money. Campos said, "We are a very united community." Campos believes...

SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico is one of just two states, the other being Washington, that allow in-state residents who are illegal immigrants to get the same driver’s licenses given to citizens, as long as they pass a written test and successfully show they can turn and stop and park. But critics, led by the newly elected governor, Susana Martinez, say that the lenient licensing law attracts illegal immigrants from far and wide who fraudulently claim they live in New Mexico in order to get identification cards that allow them to settle into American life. “We don’t have any...

Saw this billboard today just north of Belen, NM on I-25. Both the front and back of this business's reader board had the same setup. I think this billboard/reader board says exactly when a LOT of people in this country are thinking.

HOBBS -- Sen. Pete Domenici will be featured speaker at a national energy policy conference May 27 at the Lea County Event Center titled "The Making of Energy Policy: Where Are We Going?" The conference is sponsored by New Mexico Tech, the Economic Development Corporation of Lea County, and the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy. Co-sponsors are the United States Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute. NMCEP, operated by New Mexico Tech, is organizing the conference, the group said in a news release. Registration will begin at 10 a.m., followed at 11:30 a.m. by a welcome and...

HOBBS -- Sen. Pete Domenici will be featured speaker at a national energy policy conference May 27 at the Lea County Event Center titled "The Making of Energy Policy: Where Are We Going?" The conference is sponsored by New Mexico Tech, the Economic Development Corporation of Lea County, and the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy. Co-sponsors are the United States Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute. NMCEP, operated by New Mexico Tech, is organizing the conference, the group said in a news release. Registration will begin at 10 a.m., followed at 11:30 a.m. by a welcome and...

<p>ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO (USA) - Children at a city-run preschool program in Albuquerque, N.M., are being examined by doctors after teachers learned they had pricked themselves with hypodermic needles that were mistakenly donated to their classroom.</p> <p>Officials say two syringes were in a box containing a stethoscope, medical gloves and other medical supplies intended to be used by the kids to play doctor. At least four children were pricked by the needles Tuesday.</p>

Authorities have ordered an evacuation of Los Alamos due the threat from Las Conchas wildfire. Below is a press release from Los Alamos County that was issued moments ago: Los Alamos County officials are reporting the fire is now threatening Los Alamos. They are ordering a mandatory evacuation which will begin and proceed in this order: Group 1: Western, Quemazon, Ponderosa; Group 2: North Community, Barranca Mesa, North Mesa; Group 3: East of Diamond and the remainder of the town site. White Rock is NOT being evacuated at this time. Residents in Los Alamos should NOT go to White Rock...

SANTA FE, New Mexico (Reuters) - Voluntary evacuations have been issued for Los Alamos, including the Los Alamos National Laboratory, which is threatened by a fast-moving wildfire that broke out in northern New Mexico on Sunday, authorities said. The Las Conchas Fire flared early Sunday afternoon around 12 miles southwest of Los Alamos, charring about 3,500 acres and endangering the nation's nuclear weapons laboratory and its surrounding communities, said Lawrence Lujan, a spokesman for the Santa Fe National Forest. "We have homes and we have the labs, so it's a very, very big concern, not only locally but nationally and...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Former University of New Mexico President F. Chris Garcia was arrested and jailed Thursday in connection with a multistate, online prostitution ring that authorities say was run by a physics professor from New Jersey. Police said Garcia, 71, and Fairleigh Dickinson professor David Flory, 68, were among seven members identified in the top echelon of the ring. Six have been arrested, and warrants have been issued for one more, Albuquerque police Chief Ray Schultz said. Investigators said the ring had some 1,400 members, including 200 prostitutes, but there was no indication that any other universities or students...

New Mexico Supreme CourtPolice officers in New Mexico can take guns away from drivers who pose no threat. The state supreme court ruled on May 20 that "officer safety" is more important than any constitutional rights a gun-owning motorist might have. The ruling was handed down in deciding the fate of Gregory Ketelson who was a passenger in a vehicle pulled over on November 13, 2008. During the stop, Hobbs Police Officer Miroslava Bleau saw a 9mm handgun on the back seat floorboard. Ketelson and the driver of the car were ordered out and away from the car while Officer...

NM judge booked, fingerprinted in political bribery scandal tied to Democrats, RichardsonArticle by: Associated Press Updated: May 20, 2011 - 3:35 PM LAS CRUCES, N.M. - A New Mexico judge charged with bribery in a scandal tied to former Gov. Bill Richardson pleaded not guilty Friday, then was booked, fingerprinted and ordered to hand over his passport. State District Judge Michael Murphy is accused of telling a potential judicial candidate that if she wanted a seat on the bench she needed to donate to the Democratic Party through a political activist linked to Richardson. Allegations in a special prosecutor's report...

A terrorist organization whose home base is in the Middle East has established another home base across the border in Mexico. "They are recognized by many experts as the 'A' team of Muslim terrorist organizations," a former U.S. intelligence agent told 10News. The former agent, referring to Shi'a Muslim terrorist group Hezbollah, added, "They certainly have had successes in big-ticket bombings..." Now, the group is blending into Shi'a Muslim communities in Mexico, including Tijuana. Other pockets along the U.S.-Mexico border region remain largely unidentified as U.S. intelligence agencies are focused on the drug trade... The agent, who has spent years...