HOUSE MEMORIAL 55

51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2013

INTRODUCED BY

Sheryl Williams Stapleton

A MEMORIAL

SUPPORTING THE "1882 PROJECT" AND DECLARING FEBRUARY 26, 2013 TO BE "INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT AND ASIAN AMERICAN DAY" AT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

     WHEREAS, there are over thirty thousand Asians living in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, Asians are among the fastest-growing minorities in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, Asians in New Mexico come from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Iraq, Iran, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Tibet and Vietnam; and

     WHEREAS, the Chinese American citizens alliance, including its Albuquerque chapter, the Asian American association of New Mexico and the Japanese American citizens league thank the New Mexico legislature for its leadership in the 1882 project, seeking an apology from congress for passage of a series of laws, including the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, which was not repealed until 1943; and

     WHEREAS, United States Senate Resolution 201, passed by unanimous consent, including New Mexico senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall, on October 6, 2011, acknowledged that the exclusion laws were incompatible with a basic founding principle of the United States, that all persons are created equal; and

     WHEREAS, United States Senate Resolution 201 further expressed deep regret for six decades of legislation specifically targeting persons of Chinese descent, barring them from naturalization and immigration and denying them civil rights and equal protection under the law; and

     WHEREAS, United States House of Representatives Resolution 683, cosponsored by New Mexico representatives Martin Heinrich and Steve Pearce and supported by Representative Ben Ray Lujan, was placed on the suspension calendar and passed unanimously by the one hundred twelfth congress by voice vote on June 8, 2012; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico State Senator Cisco McSorley sponsored and led the repeal of the alien land law from the constitution of New Mexico during the second session of the forty-seventh legislature in 2006, which law prohibited land ownership by all immigrants ineligible for United States citizenship; and

     WHEREAS, the repeal of these laws affirms the responsibility of congress and the New Mexico legislature to safeguard the civil rights and constitutional protections of all Americans, regardless of their race or ethnicity; and

     WHEREAS, Asians are contributing their unique culture, customs and traditions to the already richly diverse culture of New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, during the first session of the forty-ninth legislature in 2009, State Senator Timothy M. Keller sponsored Senate Joint Memorial 24, which declared that the area in Albuquerque centered around Louisiana boulevard between Central and Zuni avenues, comprising the communities of La Mesa, Trumbull, South San Pedro, Elder Homestead, Fair West and surrounding areas, shall be collectively known as the "International District", which memorial passed the legislature without a dissenting vote; and

     WHEREAS, in the "International District", Native Americans and New Mexicans, whose families have been in New Mexico for hundreds of years, live alongside recent immigrants from Mexico, Central and South America, Asia, Europe, Africa and other regions of the world; and

     WHEREAS, the United States department of state's refugee resettlement program has contributed to many cultures, customs and faiths and is represented in this diverse and vibrant part of Albuquerque; and

     WHEREAS, there are twenty-seven languages spoken at Highland high school and the "International District" is commonly recognized as the most internationally and culturally diverse area of New Mexico;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that February 26, 2013 be declared "International District and Asian American Day" at the house of representatives.

- 4 -