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Haaland ticket goes full anti-ICE after Santa Fe arrest

23 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

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.

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NM union treasurer’s bourbon run ends in federal guilty plea

2 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

A former treasurer for a New Mexico labor organization has pleaded guilty in federal court after prosecutors say he used union funds for unauthorized personal expenses and hid the misuse through false and incomplete financial reports.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico announced that Max Jaramillo, 58, pleaded guilty to embezzlement by an officer of a labor organization.

Jaramillo served as treasurer of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, Local 331, from 2014 through February 2024, according to federal court records cited by the Department of Justice. In that role, he was responsible for safeguarding union money and accurately reporting the labor organization’s financial activities.

Jason Hawke, Unsplash.

Instead, prosecutors say Jaramillo used his position to take union funds for personal spending over a period stretching from January 2015 through November 2023.

Federal authorities said Jaramillo also concealed the misuse by submitting false and incomplete reports both to the U.S. Department of Labor and to the union’s own members.

One example cited by prosecutors was a March 15, 2023, annual report submitted to the Department of Labor. According to DOJ, that report falsely represented and omitted material information about how union funds had been spent.

Among the unauthorized expenses, prosecutors said Jaramillo used $49.98 in union funds on July 1, 2022, to buy himself a bottle of Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.

American Postal Workers Union, Washington, DC. Ajay_suresh, Wiki Commons.

The bourbon purchase is only one example identified in the DOJ announcement, but it underscores the allegation at the center of the case: money that was entrusted to a union officer for labor organization purposes was instead used for personal spending.

Jaramillo’s guilty plea marks another federal financial fraud case in New Mexico involving abuse of a position of trust. Union treasurers are expected to manage funds on behalf of members, maintain accurate records, and provide honest reporting to federal regulators and the rank-and-file workers whose dues support the organization.

In this case, prosecutors say Jaramillo violated those duties for years.

Jaramillo pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement by an officer of a labor organization. At sentencing, he faces up to 20 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

A sentencing date was not included in the DOJ announcement.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison announced the guilty plea Wednesday.

The case was investigated by the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards, the federal agency responsible for enforcing reporting and disclosure requirements for labor organizations and protecting union funds from misuse. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico is prosecuting the case.

The DOJ announcement did not specify the total amount of union money Jaramillo admitted to embezzling. It did, however, describe a pattern of unauthorized personal spending and false reporting over nearly nine years.

For union members, the case is a reminder that financial transparency is not a technicality. It is supposed to protect workers from insiders who treat member-backed funds like personal accounts.

Jaramillo now awaits sentencing after admitting in federal court that he embezzled from the labor organization he was entrusted to help manage.

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Fox report blows up Vasquez’s working-class act

6 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez is facing fresh scrutiny after a new Fox News Digital report raised serious questions about the New Mexico Democrat’s carefully crafted working-class image.

Vasquez, who represents New Mexico’s competitive 2nd Congressional District, has repeatedly tried to cast himself as a humble, blue-collar candidate who understands families struggling to make ends meet. But the new report says records and social media material reviewed by Fox complicate the story Vasquez has been selling voters.

Fox reported that Vasquez has said he “never had the luxury of financial wealth” and argued during his 2022 campaign that voters were drawn to a candidate who “doesn’t come from wealth” or money.

He has also repeatedly leaned on his mother’s background in Mexico’s maquiladora industry to build that narrative. In an October 2025 La Opinión op-ed, Vasquez wrote that his mother, Hortencia Banuelos, “worked long hours in the maquiladora industry working to make ends meet,” calling her story one of “sacrifice, resilience, and hope.”

But Fox reported that Banuelos’ own professional profile and public records show a more complicated picture. According to the report, she held senior finance roles at GE during much of Vasquez’s childhood, including as a finance manager and comptroller in Mexico from December 1985 to March 1994.

Fox reported that the profile said Banuelos oversaw accounting, finance, payroll, accounts payable, IT, and customs. She was later promoted in 1994 to senior finance analyst at a GE operation in Bloomington, Indiana, where her profile said she analyzed a manufacturing plant with $800 million in revenue and 3,000 employees.

Fox also cited a 2020 Hispanic Executive profile reporting that GE hired Banuelos in Mexico in the 1980s and selected her for a two-year training program geared almost exclusively toward Ivy League graduates before she moved to Indiana.

The professional record, according to Fox, was accompanied by social media screenshots showing a more affluent family lifestyle, including repeated European travel, a three-month stay in France, luxury shopping, and upscale family photos. Fox reported that some photos included Vasquez himself, including one in which he posed with a Corvette.

That is a far cry from the stripped-down “I never had the luxury of financial wealth” image Vasquez has pushed in his public biography.

Congressional Leadership Fund, the House Republican-aligned super PAC endorsed by House GOP leadership, seized on the report, accusing Vasquez of trying to mislead voters about his background.

“Gabe tells voters he ‘never had the luxury of financial wealth,’ pointing to his mother working long hours in a factory to make ends meet,” CLF said in materials shared with Piñon Post. “But Gabe has never been poor.”

CLF also mocked the contrast between Vasquez’s public image and the lifestyle details highlighted in the report, writing, “Let them eat cake!”

The group also pointed to prior reporting on Vasquez’s personal life, noting that he “even threw himself a fake wedding for $90,000.” Fox reported that Vasquez previously faced scrutiny over a 2018 ceremony with a former fiancée at Akiin Beach Tulum in Mexico, where the Daily Mail reported events can cost between $30,000 and $90,000. Vasquez’s campaign told the Daily Mail the pair “participated in a private commitment ceremony but were never legally married and eventually separated.”

The Fox report is damaging because Vasquez’s political brand depends heavily on authenticity. He has spent years presenting himself as a grounded, working-class Democrat who can speak to southern New Mexico families on affordability, wages, and the cost of living.

But Republicans argue the new reporting shows another example of Vasquez saying one thing while the public record tells a very different story.

Vasquez’s campaign pushed back hard against the criticism of his mother.

“It’s pathetic that as Americans face Trump’s disastrous economy, Republicans attack Gabe’s mom who has worked incredibly hard, starting from the maquiladoras in Mexico, in pursuit of her American Dream,” campaign manager Patricia Socarras Santiago told Fox News Digital. “Gabe is incredibly proud of his mom and will work to ensure everyone can access the American Dream and reverse the impacts of Trump’s tanking economy.”

But that response does not answer the core political problem.

The issue is not whether Vasquez should be proud of his mother. The issue is whether he has presented voters with a selective biography that emphasizes factory struggle while downplaying corporate finance success, elite professional advancement, European travel, luxury shopping, and an upscale family image.

There is nothing wrong with upward mobility. There is nothing wrong with family success. There is nothing wrong with a mother building an impressive career.

The problem comes when a politician uses a carefully curated working-class narrative to connect with voters while leaving out the inconvenient parts that complicate the image.

Fox quoted Republican strategist Colin Reed, who said voters can spot “phony double-talk” more easily than politicians realize.

“It’s far better to be who you are and offer a compelling vision to make voters’ lives better than contort your own biography and background into something it’s not,” Reed said.

For Vasquez, that may be the real danger. The more he asks voters to trust his story, the more damaging it becomes when national reporting raises questions about what he left out.

And in a battleground district where authenticity matters, a polished working-class act can become a liability fast.

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Vasquez’s despicable vote comes back to haunt him in new ad blitz

8 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

A major center-right advocacy group is launching a six-figure ad campaign in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District targeting Democrat U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez over his vote against legislation that included a ban on taxpayer funding for gender-transition procedures for minors.

American Action Network, or AAN, announced the new New Mexico buy as part of its broader $22 million summer issue advocacy campaign, which is aimed at drawing a contrast between House Republicans and Democrats on taxes, costs and federal spending priorities.

The New Mexico ad campaign begins August 20 and will run in NM-02, one of the most competitive congressional districts in the country. The district is currently represented by Vasquez, who is seeking reelection and is expected to face Republican Greg Cunningham, a former Marine and law enforcement officer, in the general election.

AAN’s new ad accuses Vasquez of voting to allow taxpayer funding for what the group describes as “sex changes and chemical castration for minors.” The group argues that Congress moved to block public funding for such procedures, but Vasquez voted against the ban.

“Gabe Vasquez wants to waste New Mexicans’ tax dollars, voting to allow taxpayer funding for chemical castration drugs for minors,” AAN spokeswoman Lydia Hall said in a statement provided to Piñon Post. “Gabe Vasquez should be ashamed of himself for subjecting minors to a chemical castration sex-change procedure that is banned in 16 countries.”

The ad is part of a national effort by AAN to put vulnerable Democrats on defense over hot-button cultural and spending issues while also promoting the Republican-backed tax package that President Donald Trump signed into law last year.

That package, which Republicans now call the Working Families Tax Cut, included several Trump-backed tax priorities, including tax relief related to tips and overtime pay, as well as relief for seniors. The IRS says the law created new deductions tied to tips, overtime compensation and other working-family provisions beginning in 2025.

Vasquez voted no on H.R. 1, known during the legislative fight as the One Big Beautiful Act. The bill passed the House on May 22, 2025, by a 215-214 vote, with all Democrats voting against it. The House Clerk’s official vote record lists Vasquez as a “Nay.”

AAN is now using that vote to tie Vasquez to what it calls “radical priorities,” arguing that Democrats voted against tax relief for working families while defending federal spending on controversial gender-related medical procedures for minors.

The campaign also includes Spanish-language messaging, a notable move in a southern New Mexico district where Hispanic voters are central to both parties’ strategies.

The New Mexico campaign follows Axios reporting that AAN’s $22 million ad campaign is running across 41 congressional districts, including NM-02. Axios reported that the ads are focused on GOP tax cuts and attacks on Democrats over gender-affirming care for minors.

AAN is a major outside advocacy organization on the right. The group describes itself as an independent nonprofit 501(c)(4) “action tank” that promotes center-right policies based on limited government, freedom, American exceptionalism and strong national security. Axios described AAN as a top outside group aligned with House Republican leaders and reported that the new buy brings AAN’s total investment this Congress to a record $62 million.

That kind of money signals how seriously national Republicans are taking Vasquez’s district.

NM-02 has been one of the most closely watched House seats in the country for several cycles. Vasquez narrowly defeated Republican Yvette Herrell in 2022, then won reelection in 2024. Republicans now see the seat as one of their best opportunities to flip a Democrat-held district in 2026.

The AAN ad is also a sign that Republicans plan to keep nationalizing the race around cultural issues, taxes and federal spending.

For Vasquez, the attack lands as he has tried to portray himself as a moderate focused on working families and affordability. But Republicans argue his voting record in Washington tells a different story — especially when it comes to H.R. 1, the same legislation that included major tax cuts he has since tried to distance himself from while promoting some similar policies.

AAN’s new campaign attempts to force Vasquez into another difficult position: explain why he voted against the Republican tax package while defending the broader Democratic opposition to provisions conservatives say protect children and taxpayers.

The ad buy also shows that the 2026 race in NM-02 is already heating up months before Election Day.

With national groups now pouring money into the district, Vasquez’s record on taxes, spending, border security, public safety and cultural issues will remain front and center.

And AAN is making clear that one of its opening attacks will be simple: Gabe Vasquez voted the wrong way when taxpayers and children were on the line.

Vasquez’s despicable vote comes back to haunt him in new ad blitz Read More »

MLG says 2028 Dems are suddenly calling her

22 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is suddenly getting attention from national Democrats with their eyes on 2028 — and she appears eager to position the state as the party’s new presidential testing ground.

According to a new report from Politico, several potential 2028 Democrat presidential contenders have been reaching out to Lujan Grisham after New Mexico secured an early slot on the Democrat presidential primary calendar.

The Democrat National Committee finalized its 2028 early-state calendar over the weekend, placing New Mexico fourth in line on Feb. 15, 2028, after South Carolina, Nevada and New Hampshire. Michigan and Virginia will follow later in February.

For decades, New Mexico has been an afterthought in presidential primaries. Now, thanks in large part to Lujan Grisham’s lobbying, the state is being recast as an early proving ground for Democrat candidates who want to show they can speak to Hispanic voters, rural voters, border communities and energy-producing states before most of the country casts a ballot.

“This is a testing ground,” Lujan Grisham told Politico.

That line may be the most revealing part of the interview.

The term-limited governor is trying to sell New Mexico as a national model for Democrats, arguing that presidential candidates should not wait until the general election to engage Hispanic voters and border-state issues.

The governor previously said after the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee selected New Mexico that Democrats “cannot show up for Hispanic voters in November after Democrats have already picked a nominee.”

In the Politico interview, Lujan Grisham argued New Mexico will force candidates to talk about rural economics, health care, child care, energy, affordability, public safety and border security in a state where Hispanic voters are central to the electorate.

That is the pitch.

But it also creates a major political test for Democrats — because New Mexico is not just a convenient demographic showcase. It is also a state where the Democrat Party’s record on border security, crime, energy, education and affordability will be on display.

Lujan Grisham told Politico that she has recently spoken or texted with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and former Ambassador Rahm Emanuel. She also reportedly spoke with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, chatted with U.S. Sen. Cory Booker during his recent New Mexico visit, and is working to schedule time with former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who she said is planning a trip to the state.

That means New Mexico could soon become a must-visit stop for the next crop of national Democrats looking to replace President Donald Trump after his second term.

Politico reported that Lujan Grisham discussed the state’s calendar position, demographics and her own policies, including universal child care, with potential contenders.

That framing gives the governor a chance to tout her own legacy before leaving office. But it also means Democrats who campaign here will have to deal with New Mexico’s real-world problems, not just the national party’s preferred talking points.

The most striking portion of Lujan Grisham’s interview may have been her warning to Democrats on immigration and the border.

“Don’t be uncertain,” she said when discussing border security.

She also warned that voters do not want to hear Democrats sound like they support open borders.

That is a notable admission from a Democrat governor in a border state — and it could create awkward moments for a party whose left flank has spent years attacking immigration enforcement, opposing border security measures, and flirting with slogans about abolishing federal agencies.

Lujan Grisham went further, saying debates about “abolishing one system or another” do not appeal to mainstream voters.

The governor did not name specific Democrats, but the warning is obvious: the party cannot afford to sound radical on the border if it wants to win back voters who have drifted away from Democrats in recent years.

That message is particularly relevant in New Mexico, where border security is not an abstract cable-news issue. It affects law enforcement, ranchers, local communities, ports of entry, trade, drug trafficking and public safety.

New Mexico’s new early-state role is also likely to elevate energy policy.

The state is one of the nation’s most important energy producers, with oil and gas revenue playing a massive role in the state budget. That could force national Democrats to explain how they plan to balance climate rhetoric with the reality that New Mexico’s schools, programs and government spending rely heavily on fossil fuel production.

Lujan Grisham called this “smart energy production,” a phrase that sounds designed to soften the tension between the Democrat Party’s anti-fossil-fuel activists and New Mexico’s oil-funded government machine.

The DNC’s decision is being framed nationally as an effort to better reflect the Democrat coalition, including Black, Latino, rural, union and diverse voters. But for New Mexico, it also puts the state’s political contradictions directly in the spotlight.

Democrats want New Mexico to be a showcase for Hispanic outreach, border-state politics and progressive policy wins.

Republicans are likely to argue it is something else entirely: a warning sign of what one-party Democrat control looks like when crime, border chaos, struggling schools and affordability concerns collide.

Either way, Lujan Grisham got what she wanted.

The 2028 Democrat hopefuls are calling. New Mexico will vote early. And the governor is trying to make sure the road to the Democrat nomination runs through Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Las Cruces and the borderlands.

The question now is whether New Mexico becomes a national Democrat success story — or an early reminder of the party’s biggest liabilities.

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UNM fails nearly every free speech test

11 Comments / Culture, New Mexico, News, Politics / By

A national higher education watchdog says the University of New Mexico-Albuquerque is falling badly short on free expression, viewpoint diversity and intellectual openness, giving the state’s flagship university credit for just three out of 20 measures in a new campus free speech report card.

The American Council of Trustees and Alumni, or ACTA, released its latest Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression evaluation for UNM on August 18. The report is part of ACTA’s Campus Freedom Initiative, which reviews universities against a 20-point plan the organization says is designed to restore “higher education’s commitment to excellence and open inquiry.”

UNM did not fare well.

According to ACTA, UNM receives credit for only three of the 20 Gold Standard measures. The organization said its research highlights UNM’s strengths in protecting free expression, but also identifies “areas it must work on to improve the student experience.”

The three areas where UNM received credit were limited. ACTA gave the university marks for encouraging student groups devoted to free expression, civil discourse or a plurality of perspectives; establishing policies that protect free expression rights on campus and set clear consequences for disruption of sponsored speakers, events and classes; and reviewing student government policies to ensure viewpoint neutrality in student group recognition and funding.

Everywhere else, according to the report card, UNM came up short.

ACTA says UNM has not adopted the Chicago Principles on Freedom of Expression or a similarly strong statement. It also faults the university for lacking clear free expression expectations in student and faculty handbooks and codes of conduct, failing to include a free expression unit in new-student orientations, and not adopting an institutional neutrality policy such as the Kalven Report.

The watchdog also says UNM does not sponsor campus debates that model civil discourse and does not enforce policies protecting free expression rights with clear consequences for disruptions.

The criticism continues in ACTA’s section on intellectual diversity. UNM received no credit for encouraging presidents, provosts and deans to model respect for a broad range of viewpoints; guaranteeing viewpoint diversity in student life policies; supporting academic centers dedicated to free inquiry and intellectual diversity; or ensuring faculty hiring, evaluation and promotion are based on merit while making clear the institution is open to intellectual diversity.

In the “break down barriers to free expression” category, ACTA says UNM has not eliminated speech and IT policies that have a chilling effect on free expression, has not ensured Title VI, Title VII and Title IX enforcement does not infringe on free expression, and has not disbanded bias response teams.

UNM also received no credit in ACTA’s leadership accountability category. The group says the university has not included free expression commitments in key institutional documents, has not made free expression a criterion in searches and evaluations for top administrators, has not required free expression and viewpoint diversity training for administrative staff, and has not conducted regular surveys to assess the state of free expression and intellectual diversity on campus.

The organization describes itself as launched in 1995 and says it works with alumni, donors, trustees and education leaders to support liberal arts education, high academic standards, the free exchange of ideas and affordable, high-quality college education.

InfluenceWatch describes ACTA as a “conservative-leaning organization” that encourages trustees, alumni and donors to take a more active role in setting university policy. The left-wing Media Bias/Fact Check (so, take this with a grain of salt) rates ACTA as right-biased with “Mixed” factual reporting, citing its conservative advocacy, lack of donor transparency and one-sided reporting, while also noting it has no recorded fact-check failures.

But those caveats do not erase the substance of the UNM report card.

The central finding is straightforward: by ACTA’s standards, UNM has not built a serious institutional framework for free speech, viewpoint diversity or academic neutrality. Instead, the university received credit for only a small handful of procedural protections while failing most of the group’s broader tests for an open campus culture.

For New Mexicans, the report raises obvious questions. If the state’s flagship public university is funded by taxpayers and serves students from across the ideological spectrum, why has it not adopted stronger protections for free expression? Why has it not embraced institutional neutrality? Why are regular campus surveys on intellectual diversity not already standard practice?

ACTA’s report does not accuse UNM of being the worst campus in America. It does something more specific: it measures the university against a detailed free-expression checklist and finds it badly lacking.

In an era when universities increasingly face criticism for ideological conformity, DEI bureaucracy, shout-downs, bias reporting systems and administrative activism, UNM’s 3-out-of-20 score is not a small warning sign.

It is a failing grade from a group that believes universities should be places where ideas are debated, not managed by bureaucracy.

UNM fails nearly every free speech test Read More »

Vasquez desperate to rewrite record after throwing NM Downwinders to the wolves

14 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

When far-left Democrat U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez had one of his clearest opportunities to stand up for New Mexico’s long-suffering Downwinders, he didn’t.

Instead, Vasquez joined his fellow Democrats and voted against the final H.R. 1 package that contained the historic expansion of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) — the very expansion he is now celebrating and attempting to build his political brand around.

Now, more than a year later, Vasquez is back on offense with a shiny new press release portraying himself as a relentless champion for Downwinders.

The problem is his voting record.

On Monday, Vasquez announced his support for the Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act of 2026, boasting that he stands with the Tularosa Basin Downwinders and declaring that Washington must take responsibility for the damage caused by the 1945 Trinity nuclear test.

“I stand with the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium and all those that refuse to let the world forget what happened at the Trinity Site,” Vasquez said.

His office even bragged that the 2025 expansion of RECA to New Mexicans was a “huge win” and claimed Vasquez has “long worked closely with the Downwinder community.”

What the press release conveniently leaves out is that when Congress actually voted on the legislation delivering that huge win, Vasquez voted no.

On July 3, 2025, the House considered final passage of the Senate-amended H.R. 1. Buried inside the massive package was something New Mexico families had fought decades to achieve: an expansion of RECA covering victims of the Trinity Test and other Americans harmed by radiation exposure.

Vasquez had a choice.

He could break with the partisan opposition to the broader package and vote for legislation containing the long-awaited relief New Mexico Downwinders had begged Washington to provide for generations.

He chose not to.

Vasquez voted NO.

The measure passed anyway, 218-214, and the RECA expansion became law without his support.

Whatever objections Vasquez had to other provisions of the sweeping reconciliation package, the practical reality is unavoidable: the legislation that finally delivered RECA coverage to New Mexico reached the House floor, and Gabe Vasquez voted against it.

He also voted against the procedural measure that allowed the Senate-amended H.R. 1 — with the RECA expansion included — to come before the House for a final vote.

Now Vasquez wants voters to forget that moment and focus instead on his latest press conference-ready push for additional benefits.

The hypocrisy does not stop there.

Vasquez is also attempting to portray himself as a stalwart supporter of New Mexico’s military community by touting his December 2025 vote for the final Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act.

His congressional office celebrated the vote as delivering “major wins for New Mexico,” highlighting military infrastructure, a servicemember pay raise and provisions Vasquez helped insert into the bill.

But again, there are inconvenient votes missing from the press release.

Vasquez voted against the Fiscal Year 2025 NDAA in June 2024.

Then, in September 2025, he voted against the House version of the Fiscal Year 2026 NDAA before later supporting the negotiated final version in December.

That is a far different record from the uncomplicated pro-defense image Vasquez is now trying to sell.

The Downwinder issue is particularly glaring because these families waited approximately eight decades for recognition.

New Mexicans living near the Trinity Site endured cancer, illness, death and generations of unanswered questions while the federal government excluded them from compensation available to other radiation-exposed communities.

When Congress finally put legislation containing their long-awaited relief on Vasquez’s desk for an up-or-down vote, he did not stand with them.

He stood with the partisan opposition to H.R. 1.

Now that the expansion is safely law despite his vote, Vasquez is attempting to wrap himself in the cause and take credit as one of its loudest champions.

New Mexico Downwinders deserved courage when their compensation was actually on the line — not political rehabilitation after someone else supplied the votes necessary to get it done.

Vasquez desperate to rewrite record after throwing NM Downwinders to the wolves Read More »

All the most corrupt NM politicians of all time

16 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

New Mexico has produced plenty of political scandal, but not every accusation belongs on a “most corrupt” list. This ranking is based on the hardest public record available: convictions, guilty pleas, no-contest pleas, prison sentences, dollar amounts, office held, and betrayal of public trust.

And yes, because this is New Mexico politics, Democrats dominate the list.

1. Albert B. Fall — Republican U.S. senator, Interior secretary, Teapot Dome crook

No New Mexico corruption list can start anywhere else. Albert B. Fall, one of New Mexico’s first U.S. senators and later President Warren Harding’s Interior secretary, became the central figure in the Teapot Dome scandal after secretly leasing federal oil reserves to private oilmen. Fall became the first former Cabinet official in American history to go to prison, making him not just a New Mexico disgrace, but a national symbol of government corruption.

2. Manny Aragon — Democrat Senate boss, courthouse scam convict

Former Senate President Pro Tem Manny Aragon was once one of the most powerful Democrats in New Mexico. He later pleaded guilty in the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Courthouse scandal, a scheme prosecutors said involved inflated and false invoices used to steal millions in taxpayer money. Aragon was sentenced to 5½ years in federal prison, fined $750,000, and ordered to pay restitution.

3. Sheryl Williams Stapleton — Democrat House leader, APS corruption convict

Former House Majority Leader Sheryl Williams Stapleton rocketed up the list after a federal jury convicted her on dozens of charges tied to a scheme involving Albuquerque Public Schools funds. The once-powerful Democrat was convicted in a case involving allegations that millions meant for education programs were diverted through a friend’s company in exchange for kickbacks.

4. Michael Montoya — Democrat state treasurer, admitted bribe-taker

Former Democratic State Treasurer Michael Montoya helped define one of the ugliest chapters in New Mexico financial corruption. He pleaded guilty to a federal extortion charge and later to a state racketeering charge, admitting he had taken bribes dating back to the 1990s. When the office charged with guarding public money becomes a corruption factory, it earns a top spot.

5. Robert Vigil — Democrat state treasurer, attempted extortion convict

Robert Vigil, another Democratic state treasurer, continued the Treasurer’s Office disgrace. He resigned in 2005 and was later sentenced to 37 months in prison after being convicted of attempted extortion. The Vigil-Montoya era did lasting damage to public trust in New Mexico’s handling of state funds.

6. Phil Griego — Democrat state senator, state-building payday scandal

Former Democratic Sen. Phil Griego was convicted on corruption charges involving the sale of a state-owned building in Santa Fe. Prosecutors said Griego used his position as a lawmaker to guide the sale through the Legislature while failing to properly disclose his financial interest as a broker. He was convicted of five counts, including bribery, fraud, and unlawful interest in a public contract, and later sentenced to 18 months in prison.

7. Dianna Duran — Republican secretary of state, campaign-cash scandal

Former Republican Secretary of State Dianna Duran makes the list because her office was supposed to police campaign finance. Instead, she pleaded guilty to charges including felony embezzlement, money laundering, and campaign reporting violations after allegations involving personal use of campaign funds. She resigned and later served a 30-day jail sentence.

8. Ken Schultz — former Albuquerque mayor, Metro Courthouse go-between

Former Albuquerque Mayor Ken Schultz was not in office when the Metropolitan Courthouse scandal unfolded, but his political stature and role in the scheme put him on the list. Federal prosecutors said Schultz, then a lobbyist, helped contribute to the theft of more than $900,000 tied to the courthouse’s architectural services portion. He pleaded guilty and cooperated in the case.

9. Jerome Block Jr. — Democrat PRC commissioner, public-card and campaign-fund disgrace

Former Public Regulation Commissioner Jerome Block Jr., an Española Democrat, resigned after pleading guilty to multiple felonies. His case involved fraudulent use of a state-issued gasoline card, identity theft, campaign-finance violations, and embezzlement connected to public campaign money. For a regulator overseeing utilities and other major public interests, the scandal was especially embarrassing.

10. Vincent “Smiley” Gallegos — former Democrat lawmaker, housing authority scandal figure

Former state lawmaker Vincent “Smiley” Gallegos rounds out the list for his role in New Mexico’s housing authority mess. Gallegos, former head of the Region III Housing Authority, pleaded no contest to four misdemeanors after being indicted on fraud, embezzlement, and conspiracy allegations tied to housing-project bond funds. The case did not end with the kind of prison sentence seen in other scandals, but the affordable-housing collapse remains one of New Mexico’s most infamous examples of political cronyism.

Honorable mentions: pre-statehood corruption

Before New Mexico even became a state, the territory was already notorious for political corruption, land-grant schemes, and insider control. The biggest pre-statehood honorable mention is the Santa Fe Ring — the powerful territorial machine tied to lawyers, politicians, land speculators, and businessmen such as former U.S. Sens. Thomas B. Catron and Stephen B. Elkins, who used political influence, legal maneuvering, and land-grant disputes to consolidate enormous power and wealth.

The U.S. House history office calls the Santa Fe Ring “the first and perhaps the most notable political machine in New Mexico’s history,” while UNM Press notes the Ring became famous for “public corruption” and dispossessing land holders. The territorial era also included scandals tied to Spanish and Mexican land grants, a confirmation process the New Mexico Department of Justice says was widely viewed as mired in “confusion, corruption” and lacking due process.

The Colfax County War and Maxwell Land Grant fight likewise exposed the ugly mix of violence, political cronyism, and land speculation that shaped territorial New Mexico before statehood. Because many of these figures operated before modern criminal statutes, campaign-finance laws, and public-corruption enforcement, they are harder to rank against later convicted officials — but no serious list of New Mexico corruption can ignore the Santa Fe Ring and the territorial land-grab culture that set the tone long before 1912.

The pattern

This list is not balanced for the sake of balance. It is weighted toward the documented record. New Mexico’s worst corruption scandals have repeatedly involved powerful Democrats controlling government money, public contracts, school funds, state buildings, and insider networks. Republicans are not absent — Fall and Duran absolutely belong here — but the modern state-level corruption hall of shame is overwhelmingly filled by Democrats.

The lesson is obvious: one-party dominance, weak transparency laws, and cozy political networks create exactly the kind of environment where insiders believe they can get rich, cover their tracks, and count on friends in power to look the other way.

Sometimes juries finally catch up.

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Corrupt ex-Dem House leader convicted on all counts

18 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

Corrupt ex-Democrat House leader Sheryl Williams Stapleton convicted on all federal counts

Former New Mexico House Majority Leader Sheryl Williams Stapleton, once one of the most powerful Democrats in the state Legislature, was convicted Friday on all federal counts in a sprawling corruption case tied to millions of dollars meant for Albuquerque Public Schools students.

A federal jury found Stapleton, 69, and her longtime friend and co-defendant Joseph Johnson, 74, guilty on every count they faced after a two-week trial in Albuquerque. The charges included bribery, mail fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Stapleton was convicted of 31 felony counts in all, while Johnson was convicted of 28 counts. Stapleton was also convicted on tax-related charges for failing to report income prosecutors said she received through the scheme.

The verdict marks a stunning fall for Stapleton, a longtime Albuquerque Democrat who represented House District 19 and rose to become House majority leader before resigning in 2021 after investigators searched her home and offices.

“It’s a fall from grace story, someone who rode high in the Democratic political establishment and is now facing a number of years in a federal prison,” legal expert John Day told KOAT.

Federal prosecutors alleged Stapleton used her position as Albuquerque Public Schools’ Career and Technical Education coordinator to steer state and federal education dollars to Robotics Management Learning Systems, a Washington, D.C.-based company owned by Johnson. The company provided a math education program called CyberQuest to APS.

According to reporting on the case, APS paid Robotics roughly $3.25 million between 2013 and 2021, with some of the money coming from federal grants funded by taxpayers. Prosecutors said much of the money did not go toward maintaining or operating the software program. Instead, they argued Johnson sent blank company checks to Stapleton, who used more than $1.1 million for her own benefit.

Prosecutors urged jurors to follow the money, arguing Stapleton and Johnson hid conflicts of interest while siphoning money intended for students. Evidence presented at trial showed APS mailed checks to an Albuquerque post office box for Robotics, and a former New Mexico Department of Justice agent testified that Stapleton personally retrieved the checks and deposited them into a Robotics bank account.

The Albuquerque Journal reported that Johnson’s office manager mailed blank Robotics checks to Stapleton, who used 234 of those checks to move $1,152,506 into accounts she controlled, including accounts tied to her family’s restaurant, consulting business, and a nonprofit foundation controlled by Stapleton and Johnson.

The jury rejected defense arguments from both defendants.

Stapleton’s attorneys admitted during trial that she took money she should not have taken, but claimed she stole from Johnson’s company — not taxpayers. Her attorney Ryan Villa told jurors during opening statements, “She did take money and she shouldn’t have,” adding, “We’re not here to tell you that she is 100% innocent.”

Johnson’s defense team claimed he did not know what Stapleton was doing and blamed an employee for sending her checks without his knowledge.

Jurors did not buy it.

Both defendants were convicted on every count.

Stapleton did not comment after leaving the courthouse Friday. Her attorney Ahmad Assed told reporters the defense was shaken by the verdict.

“We’re all emotionally taken aback with respect to the verdict that the jury came back with, and she obviously hasn’t had the time to process that,” Assed said.

U.S. District Judge James O. Browning allowed both Stapleton and Johnson to remain out of custody pending sentencing, saying there was “clear and convincing evidence” that neither defendant was a flight risk or danger to the community. Sentencing is expected to be set within 90 days.

Stapleton still faces a separate state case with 28 criminal counts, including racketeering, money laundering, fraud, soliciting or receiving illegal kickbacks, and engaging in an official act for personal financial gain. That trial is currently scheduled for October in 2nd Judicial District Court.

Villa said Stapleton’s defense plans to ask the New Mexico Department of Justice to reconsider pursuing the state case, arguing taxpayers should not fund a second trial over what he called “essentially the identical charges.”

Lauren Rodriguez, chief of staff for the New Mexico Department of Justice, said the agency is evaluating its next steps now that the federal case has concluded.

The conviction brings long-awaited accountability in likely New Mexico’s most notorious public corruption scandal of the modern age — a case involving a powerful Democrat lawmaker, a public school district, federal education money, and a scheme prosecutors said enriched insiders while students were left behind.

For years, Stapleton held power in Santa Fe while also working inside APS. On Friday, a federal jury concluded she used that position not to serve students, but to help funnel public money into private pockets.

The message from jurors was unmistakable: the defense could argue about who the money technically came from, but the trail began with education dollars meant for New Mexico children.

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Babylon Bee says NM law ‘spoils the joke’

9 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

The Babylon Bee is taking New Mexico to court over a state law that requires warning labels on certain AI-generated political content, arguing the mandate threatens political satire by forcing comedians to explain the joke before readers can laugh.

The Christian satire site filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against New Mexico officials, with backing from Alliance Defending Freedom, challenging provisions of House Bill 182, the 2024 law that amended the state’s Campaign Reporting Act to regulate what it calls “materially deceptive media.”

The law requires covered political advertisements that use artificial intelligence to generate or manipulate images, video, or audio to include a prominent disclaimer stating that the content was created or altered by AI.

Supporters of the law have framed it as a safeguard against deepfakes and election misinformation. But The Babylon Bee says New Mexico crossed a constitutional line by dragging satire, parody, cartoons, memes, and political comedy into the disclaimer regime.

The lawsuit argues that the state’s forced label does not merely disclose technical information — it changes the message.

According to the complaint, the disclaimer “alters the content” of the satire by telling viewers upfront that the communication is satirical or parodic, stripping it of its intended effect. The lawsuit puts it more bluntly: HB 182 “spoils the joke as it begins.”

Seth Dillon, CEO of The Babylon Bee, told Fox News Digital the problem is not just about bad comedy policy. It is about compelled speech.

“New Mexico is stuffing words into our mouths,” Dillon said, arguing the state is forcing the Bee to say something it otherwise would not say.

That gets to the heart of the challenge. Political satire works because it imitates, exaggerates, mocks, and surprises. A state-mandated warning label announcing that something is artificially generated or manipulated can defeat the entire point, especially when the audience is meant to understand the absurdity through context.

The Bee recently posted an AI-generated satirical travel advertisement mocking Democratic-run New Mexico and state Supreme Court Justice David K. Thomson, who is on the November ballot. In the parody, an AI-generated Thomson says the court rules “against the Second Amendment, the First Amendment or any other amendment that lets people do things.”

The Bee says it plans to continue producing AI-assisted satire about candidates and ballot questions in New Mexico, but does not want to publish under the state’s required label.

Dillon said the site is not backing down.

“The concern is real, but we don’t censor ourselves,” Dillon told Fox. “If a joke we want to tell is likely to violate the law, we’ll tell it, anyway — both because we have a right to, and we refuse to do the tyrant’s work for him.”

The lawsuit names members of the New Mexico Ethics Commission, which enforces the challenged provisions, as defendants. The Bee and ADF are asking the court to block enforcement.

ADF Chief Legal Counsel Jim Campbell told Fox that the case is about protecting core political speech.

“The government cannot decide which political speech is allowed,” Campbell said, warning that when officials control acceptable political speech, “dissent disappears.”

The law itself contains a carveout for satire or parody only if the required disclaimer is included. In other words, New Mexico says parody may be safe from violation — but only if the speaker first labels it in the precise way the state commands.

Even New Mexico’s own Democratic officials have acknowledged legal problems with that setup.

When Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed HB 182, she wrote that portions of the legislation were ambiguous and could “pose legal issues.” In July 2025, Attorney General Raúl Torrez issued an advisory opinion concluding the disclaimer requirement for satire and parody was “likely unconstitutional on its face.”

Torrez’s opinion explained that satire and parody, by definition, are not likely to mislead a reasonable viewer into believing they reflect actual facts. Therefore, he wrote, there is insufficient justification for forcing disclaimers on those forms of political expression.

The New Mexico Ethics Commission dismissed the lawsuit in a statement to Fox, calling the pre-enforcement challenge “baseless.” The commission said it has never enforced the AI disclaimer requirements against political parody or satire.

“While the Babylon Bee has a First Amendment right to mock New Mexico,” the commission said, “it does not have a right to extract attorneys’ fees from the State.”

That response may not solve the constitutional problem. A law does not have to be enforced repeatedly before speakers can argue it chills protected speech, especially when fines and legal penalties are sitting on the books.

The case also places New Mexico inside a growing national fight over artificial intelligence, elections, and free speech. States are increasingly trying to police deepfakes and AI-generated campaign content. But the danger, critics argue, is that broad “anti-misinformation” laws can easily become tools for regulating jokes, memes, and dissent.

Alliance Defending Freedom has represented The Babylon Bee in similar challenges in California and Hawaii, where courts ruled against state restrictions on political satire and deepfakes.

Now New Mexico’s law is next in the crosshairs.

The question before the court is not whether voters should know when AI is being used deceptively in politics. The question is whether the government can force political comedians to slap a warning label on satire — even when the warning destroys the point of the speech.

For The Babylon Bee, the answer is simple: government-mandated joke explanations are not transparency.

They are censorship by another name.

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