NM’s nonprofits, churches stepped up
Friendly political environment aided asylum seekers in 2018 and 2019
As migration into the Southern border of the United States soared in 2018 and 2019 — records show that nearly 1.5 million people were detained by U.S. Border Patrol during those two years — the federal immigration system appeared overloaded and turned to local organizations to ease what it conveyed to be an increasingly untenable burden.
Along the New Mexico-Texas border, local cities, counties, churches, nonprofits and volunteers pooled their labor and resources to help the people who had migrated across a country, sometimes several, to reach El Paso, a city considered by many migrants to be America’s doorway to asylum. Thousands filed their asylum petitions in this city, then were bused by the U.S. government into another critical region in the asylum journey: the state of New Mexico.
It was during this 2018 and 2019 migration episode that an important chapter in New Mexico’s role in handling the Borderland crisis was written. The corridor from El Paso to Las Cruces, to Deming, to Albuquerque established itself as a successful model for the humane treatment of migrating people in distress.
Weary, hungry and often broke, nearly 30,000 people in that migration wave sought refuge in this state, thrusting onto New Mexico’s leaders an unexpected, but clear, mission.
“We wanted to make sure that they were kept safe and treated with respect,” said Ken Miyagishima, mayor of Las Cruces, who coordinated his city’s sheltering during that chaotic migration wave. “I was
alerted, with one hour’s notice, that the Border Patrol would be dropping off asylum seekers who were coming in from Mexico, from the El Paso border,” he recalled. “So we scrambled and made sure we had a plan.”
U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions during that period surged along the entire Southern border — 521,090 in 2018 and 977,509 in 2019, according to government records. But the strongest spike was in the El Paso and the New Mexico border region, which saw a 477% jump in apprehensions, the largest increase anywhere on the U.S.-Mexico border during that time, according to the Pew Research Center.
The initial stay for asylum seekers was temporary, only long enough to shower, eat and rest for a night or two. Then, the long journey continued on another bus running elsewhere in the state, or to an airport — sometimes in El Paso, sometimes Albuquerque — to fly asylum seekers to their immigration sponsors in distant cities who had pledged to support them during the monthslong wait for an immigration hearing. Along the way, more networks of New Mexicans shielded migrants from as much hardship as they could.
“It was important for us, as a community, to make sure we met their needs. We knew a lot of them left everything they owned in the world,” said Benny Jasso, mayor of Deming for the past seven years. “New Mexico cities were working together. We were there to help them as much as we could, and we take pride in that,” he said.
The two New Mexico cities that sheltered the most migrants during this wave were Las Cruces, which Miyagashima said helped about 11,000 people; and Deming, which Jasso said assisted some 13,000 people.
Albuquerque also served a key role in managing the migration surge — sheltering and aiding about 5,000 people, according to local immigration activists.
This city has a long history of acting as “an official refugee resettlement city since the early 1970s after the Vietnam War,” said Michelle Melendez, director of the Office of Equity and Inclusion for the City of Albuquerque. “Keeping Albuquerque a refugeeand immigrant-friendly city has been a top priority for Mayor (Tim) Keller since day one,” she said.
George Miller, executive director for El Calvario Immigrant Advocacy Center in Las Cruces, agreed that Albuquerque’s promigrant stance was an asset to asylum seekers during the 2018 and 2019 surge.
“The big thing about going through Albuquerque is that there is a group of people there, and they are ready and willing to shelter,” he said, adding that the popular migrant corridor starts and ends with the region’s two largest cities that have the most
“IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR US, AS A COMMUNITY, TO MAKE SURE WE MET THEIR NEEDS. WE KNEW A LOT OF THEM LEFT EVERYTHING THEY OWNED IN THE WORLD. BENNY JASSO MAYOR OF DEMING ”
developed capacity.
“El Paso and Albuquerque are the two big hubs because of infrastructure and airports,” Miller said. “If El Paso gets overcrowded, then they start to go north” primarily because of access to more airline flights, he said.
At 266 miles away, the Albuquerque International Sunport is the closest commercial airport to El Paso. In Texas, the Midland International Air & Space Port is 305 miles from El Paso and Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport is 342 miles away. In Arizona, Tucson International Airport is 317 miles from El Paso.
Another reason for the critical role of the El Paso-New Mexico corridor in the migrant journey is the political demographics of the state. In the middle of two conservative states — Texas and Arizona, both led by vocal anti-immigration governors — New Mexico is led by a Democratic governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, who heads a state with a culture of acceptance for the plight of migrants, said an expert in U.S. Border issues.
“New Mexico is very comfortable with immigrants and with Spanish speakers,” said Dr. Tony Payan, director of the Center for the United States and Mexico at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. “It is a majority minority state, and Hispanics are a very much welcomed part of the landscape,” he said. “I know New Mexico and Albuquerque are very friendly environments for immigrants.”
The populations of Texas and Arizona are both less than half Hispanic or Native American — right at 40% and 37% respectively — while more than 60% of New Mexico is Hispanic or Native American.
Lujan Grisham’s office did not respond to multiple requests seeking comment on what distinguished this state’s treatment of migrants from other states, specifically Texas. But, in June 2019, her office filed suit against the Trump administration for “leaving vulnerable individuals and families without assistance and burdening local governments, as well as nonprofit organizations,” according to a press release issued at that time from the Governor’s Office.