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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Ortiz y Pino

DATE TYPED 03-07-05 HB

SHORT TITLE Sympathy for Juarez Murder Victim Families

SB SM31

ANALYST Woods

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Memorial 31 – Conveying the Sympathy of the State of New Mexico to the Families of

the Young Women Murdered near the City of Juarez in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, and En-

couraging Increased New Mexico Involvement in Bringing an End to these Crimes – notes that:

•

since 1993, the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez and the state of Chihuahua

have been plagued with the abduction, sexual assault and brutal murders of more

than four hundred girls and women, many of whom are under twenty-five years

of age;

•

many of the victims are not yet positively identified, dozens of young women

fitting the profile of previous victims are missing and many of the crimes show

signs of being connected to one or more serial killers;

•

many of the abductions occur in broad daylight, and, as a result, many women in

Juarez report being afraid to leave their homes;

•

many of these victims had been employed in maquiladoras or had been training

to work in them and disappeared going to or from work or training, and the poli-

Senate Memorial 31 -- Page 2

cies of many maquiladoras concerning transportation and locking out tardy em-

ployees are alleged to be contributing factors in these disappearances;

•

numerous international corporations operating the maquiladoras, including

some corporations based in the United States, benefit greatly from the labor

force available in Juarez and Chihuahua;

•

New Mexico and Chihuahua are sister states, sharing a common cultural heri-

tage and enjoying long ties in trade and commerce;

•

New Mexico law enforcement personnel have provided training to the police

agencies in Chihuahua charged with preventing and investigating these crimes,

even though numerous agents and officials of the Mexican police have been im-

plicated in these crimes themselves;

•

the federal bureau of investigation has stated that one or more killers might be

crossing the United States border in connection with these crimes;

•

arrests, detentions and tortures of uninvolved suspects, including some United

States citizens, have been carried out with little or no evidence, while numerous

leads and eyewitness accounts that could have led to the arrest of actual perpe-

trators have not been adequately pursued; and

•

support and pressure from American and international corporations operating

maquiladoras on the border could help bring resolution to the crimes and pro-

mote an atmosphere of democracy and rule by law in the state of Chihuahua

With respect to the above factors, the memorial resolves the following:

•

that the hundreds of unsolved abductions, rapes and murders of young women in

Chihuahua, especially in Ciudad Juarez, that have taken place since 1993 be

condemned and that sincere condolences and sympathy to the families of the

victims be expressed;

•

that the governor and the attorney general of New Mexico be requested to ex-

press concern to their Mexican counterparts about these crimes and offer what-

ever assistance is needed to put an end to this shameful plague and to ensure that

fair and proper police investigations and judicial proceedings be carried out in

connection with this crime wave;

•

that the state investment council be requested to research whether United States

businesses operating maquiladoras in Chihuahua are included in the investment

portfolios of any of the state permanent funds, including the member contribu-

tion fund as provided in the Public Employees Retirement Act and the educa-

tional retirement fund, and provide a report to the interim legislative health and

human services committee by September 2005 on the extent of such invest-

ments;

Senate Memorial 31 -- Page 3

•

that the governor be requested to conduct a thorough review of all existing rela-

tionships between New Mexico law enforcement agencies and those in Chihua-

hua to determine whether international human rights standards and principles are

being followed during law enforcement training and whether efficient back-

ground checks and criminal vetting procedures are being performed before of-

fering training to Mexican law enforcement personnel; and

•

that May 5, 2005 be declared as a "Day of Solidarity with the Women of Chi-

huahua" in the senate.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The memorial further resolves that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor and

the attorney general of New Mexico, the mayor of Ciudad Juarez and the governor of the state of

Chihuahua.

BFW/lg