Democrat lieutenant governor nominee Stephanie Garcia Richard is openly directing immigrants to report federal immigration enforcement activity and seek legal help after a Santa Fe ICE arrest sent New Mexico’s left into a full-scale meltdown.
In a social media post, Garcia Richard wrote, “To our [illegal] immigrant neighbors: you belong here, and Deb and I are not going to stop fighting for you.”
She then pointed viewers to the NM Migra Watch Hotline, listing the number and extension to “report enforcement activity or get legal help.”
The hotline is not just a generic help line. Share New Mexico describes the NM Migra Watch Hotline as a statewide resource to “report an immigration enforcement action” or seek legal help, including attorney referrals for a friend or family member facing detention or deportation. The listing says calls are answered by New Mexico Dream Team members in Albuquerque.
That is the kind of resource Garcia Richard, the Democrat Party-selected nominee for lieutenant governor, is now promoting as the Haaland-Garcia Richard ticket tries to position itself against federal immigration enforcement.
Garcia Richard became the Democrat nominee for lieutenant governor after the Democrat Party of New Mexico’s State Central Committee voted to fill the vacancy left by Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver’s withdrawal from the race. Source New Mexico reported that Garcia Richard won after a vote of roughly 500 state party members, receiving 255 votes, or 53% of the 477 ballots cast.
Her latest video came after federal immigration agents arrested a man outside La Familia Medical Center in Santa Fe. KOB reported that clinic staff said the man had driven his daughter to a doctor’s appointment and was arrested after leaving the facility and entering the public parking lot. The station also reported that Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández said there were eight ICE detentions around Santa Fe that day. Source New Mexico similarly reported that the arrest occurred outside La Familia’s Alto Street clinic and involved a parent with an 11-year-old child.
DHS had not publicly released details about the man’s immigration case or criminal history in the KOB report.
That did not stop New Mexico Democrats from turning the arrest into a political production.
Garcia Richard claimed in her video that ICE agents in Santa Fe “followed a parent and child from their home to their doctor’s appointment at a clinic, waited for them to finish the appointment, then arrested the parent.”
“This is incredibly unsettling,” she said. “Clinics are where we go for medical care. Churches are where we go to pray. Schools are where we go to learn.”
She then tied the episode directly to House Bill 9, the so-called Immigrant Safety Act, saying fear of enforcement was “the very reason” the Legislature passed the law.
“But now the Trump administration is trying to gut it,” Garcia Richard said. “This is not safe for any of us. To our immigrant families, Deb and I see you. You belong here. And we will use every tool that the state has to keep you safe.”
HB 9 prohibits public bodies from entering into agreements to detain people for federal civil immigration violations and prohibits public property from being used to facilitate detention for federal civil immigration violations, though the bill text says it does not limit law enforcement’s ability to detain individuals or perform brief investigative stops as permitted by state law.
The U.S. Department of Justice sued New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Attorney General Raúl Torrez, the City of Albuquerque, and Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller in May, alleging that HB 9 and Albuquerque’s similar ordinance interfere with federal immigration enforcement authority.
Haaland also posted a melodramatic video from La Familia Medical Center, writing, “I will not stay silent while ICE terrorizes our communities.”
In the video, Haaland claimed ICE agents “barreled through the parking lot” and arrested the father of an 11-year-old child, leaving the child alone. “I will do whatever I can to keep our community safe,” she said.
But the question for New Mexicans is safe from whom?
Federal immigration agents are tasked with enforcing federal immigration law. ICE’s own public materials describe the agency as managing the immigration enforcement process, including identification, arrest, detention and removal of aliens subject to enforcement.
Democrats are instead framing federal enforcement itself as the threat.
That posture is now central to the Haaland-Garcia Richard ticket. Rather than asking why someone was targeted by ICE, whether the person had prior immigration violations, or whether federal officers were carrying out a lawful enforcement action, Democratic leaders rushed to condemn ICE and direct immigrants to resources that help report enforcement activity and fight detention or deportation.
The Trump administration also rescinded Biden-era “protected areas” guidance in 2025, ending special limits on immigration enforcement near locations such as schools, hospitals and churches. Reuters reported that the administration rolled back the prior guidance, while Trump border czar Tom Homan said ICE would focus on serious criminals but that anyone without legal status could be subject to arrest.
That makes Garcia Richard’s statement even more revealing.
Her message was not aimed at helping law enforcement or clarifying what happened. It was aimed at telling immigrants that the Haaland-Garcia Richard ticket will use “every tool” of state government to protect them from federal immigration enforcement.
For voters who believe New Mexico should cooperate with federal law, that is a major admission.
The Democratic ticket is not hiding where it stands. Garcia Richard is promoting an ICE-reporting hotline. Haaland is accusing federal agents of terrorizing communities. And both are tying their campaign to a state law the DOJ says obstructs federal immigration enforcement.
The left may be losing its mind over one Santa Fe arrest. But the bigger story is what the Haaland-Garcia Richard ticket just told voters: when ICE comes to New Mexico, Democrats want the state standing in the way.
I grew up in NM, married in Europe and returned to NM in 1996. What a shock! The quiet state I had lived in was now full of totally uncontrolled crime, drugs, violence of all kinds. I moved from ABQ to Santa Fe, thinking it would be better there, but, no!, it was ten times worse. As an Anglo, I had a difficult renting a small barrio house near the cathedral. The first night I was there a BBgun was shot through my car window. In the course of a short period of time I had all car tires flatted, my car was scraped, too. I think, all in all, that my cars were vandalized about 20 times from 1996 until 2016 when I finally left the state. I became very ill in Santa Fe, not knowing that I was dying from CO and mold poisoning. I went to LA FAMILIA and two other clinics several times, and was continually refused any kind of medical treatment whatsoever as a “Gringo”. Around me all illegals were being treated. I threatened the institution with sueing unless they treated me Finally I got help, but the doctor never found out what was wrong. I was in the ER three times, the third time, near death. I was sent away from the ER in that condition in the middle of the night, the doctors telling me I could not stay because I didn’t have insurance. I finally found out what what was wrong. There had been an outside gas leak, leaks inside the house because of faulty construction, and a ceiling full of hidden, deadly mold. I took the RICH Spanish lady to court, but lost because she lied. I had permanent physical damage. Besides that, illegals got me fired four times while working as a caregiver when I reported their horrific stealing and abuse! I say a loud “NO!” to NM! Everyone knows it is a drug haven, that ABQ has one of the highest crime rates in the nation, and that the reasons are because of illegal immigration. If fraud was found out or exposed in NM, it, too would be a huge scandal. More power to ICE! That is the only way NM would ever become a suitable state to live in again, but it is ruled by democrats, being the one and only almost entirely blue state in the union. That is because the “feds”, that is, other US states which are prosperous and diligent, have to keep supporting and funding all the criminals in NM! Thank God for Trump for trying to stop this! Even churches are being robbed and vandalized. A serious Catholic cannot attend a Sunday Mass without holding onto handbags and having security guards at the door. That is the truth of NM!
I finally had ha it and left. Where I am now the cost of living is a little higher, the scenery isn’t as great, but great health care, good roads, no crime, no drug problem, no meth head beggar, on every street corner, no whiney nitwit woke libs. All around 100% better.
Well we all live in the “Land of Enchantment” what would one expect? If I could afford to move I would. But I will stay and keep praying for our Lord to lift the oppression that is hovering over our state and especially in Santa Fe.
Unless people wake up and stop electing these ungodly and corrupt people, NM will never change.
I SUPPORT ICE IF THEY DON’T DO THE JOB I WILL HANG ALL OF THEM
I SUPPORT ICE DEPORT THEM ALL WE DON’T WANT THEM IN THIS COUNTRY
Are NM state (taxpayer) funds being designated and used for support of non-asylum seeking persons who are illegally in state? If so is there a lawsuit on behalf of NM taxpayers that can be filed against the state — in addition to/along with federal DoJ opposition? Any Judicial Watch/ Heritage Foundation/ Alliance Defending Freedom or local lawyers out there to make this happen? Or to flag it on a well-placed billboard NOW in support of the Hull/Gallegos gubernatorial ticket?
The crime and corruption are so deep and entrenched that there is no internal fix. The democrats will never let that happen. Corruption is there way of life and criminal activity is an accepted and encouraged career path. The only way to fix it would be for the Fed to come in and take over. Declare state wide Martial Law and clean the place up.
Illegal immigration is a federal law. If the democrats candidates do not want to follow the law, maybe they should not be running for office. Once elected, they take an oath to the Constitution. They must follow the law or be arrested themselves.
Dems protect dangerous illegals instead of law- abiding American citizens.
God help this state if these two are elected. We might never recover.
Am I taking Crazypills?? Deb Halland, the Biden administration and democrats left the border wide open for the taxpayers to deal with expense of bringing, keeping and now deportation of these illegal immigrants. If you didn’t self-deport, you still gotta go.