NMSU police ‘no’ on immigration

Chief does not intend to seek authority to aid federal deportation efforts

New Mexico State University’s police chief on Wednesday said his department won’t seek authority to enforce immigration laws on campus.

In an email circulated campus-wide, NMSU Police Chief Stephen Lopez sought to allay student and faculty concerns after the Department of Homeland Security announced broad new immigration enforcement measures — including authorizing local law enforcement to act as immigration agents through a program known as “Section 287(g).”

“NMSU Police Department has never sought, and has absolutely no intention of obtaining, authority for its officers to enforce immigration laws under the Section 287(g) program,” Lopez said in the email. “Our officers have enough work to do enforcing state statutes and providing proactive crime prevention.”

University of New Mexico Police Chief Kevin McCabe could not be reached Wednesday, and it was not clear whether the department had addressed similar concerns on campus in Albuquerque.

DHS announced sweeping changes this week to immigration enforcement protocol. The government may target for deportation any unauthorized immigrant suspected of, charged with or convicted of a crime, including minor offenses.

That’s a departure from the Obama administration’s practice of targeting primarily violent criminals and recent border crossers for deportation.

The new policies continue to protect young immigrants known as “Dreamers” who qualified for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program — more than 10,500 people in New Mexico alone. But given that crossing the border illegally is a federal crime, and some traffic violations constitute crimes, advocates say millions of undocumented immigrants could be at risk of deportation under the new enforcement guidance.

Anxiety in immigrant communities in New Mexico has been running high since the election of President Donald Trump. While his hard-line stance on immigration energized many conservatives and federal law enforcement, it has left many families of mixed immigration status fearful.

Those concerns are present on campus.

NMSU police cooperate with federal agencies on investigations related to cybercrime, human trafficking, fraud, extortion, stalking and terrorism, Lopez said. On matters related to immigration law, police cooperate:

when the department’s victim services personnel identify someone who has been a victim of a serious crime who may be eligible for a special type of visa;

to verify during a traffic stop that a foreigner is within the 30-day limit to obtain a New Mexico driver’s license;

to meet federal reporting requirements when a foreign exchange student does not show up for school.

“The NMSU Police Department does not know whether there are any undocumented students attending NMSU, as that is not a question that is asked, nor are records kept of such,” Lopez said in the email.