HOUSE MEMORIAL 72

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2015

INTRODUCED BY

Sheryl Williams Stapleton

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND MEMBERS OF THE NEW MEXICO CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO CONSIDER ALTERNATIVES TO THE DETAINMENT OF IMMIGRANT FAMILIES SEEKING ASYLUM IN THIS COUNTRY.

     WHEREAS, thousands of Central American mothers and children are fleeing persecution in the form of gang and cartel violence, extortion, human trafficking and domestic violence at a level that public authorities in their home countries are powerless to prevent or remedy; and

     WHEREAS, these women and children are seeking safety in the United States and, for that reason, they apply for asylum from persecution upon arrival at the United States and Mexico border crossings; and

     WHEREAS, the right to seek asylum is established in the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, reflecting United States treaty obligations under the 1967 protocol relating to the status of refugees; and

     WHEREAS, many of these women and children have been detained in a federal immigration detention facility in Artesia; and

     WHEREAS, since July 2014, of the more than one thousand asylum-seeking Central American mothers and children detained in that facility, almost every asylum claim that has been considered on the merits resulted in the grant of asylum by the immigration judge; and

     WHEREAS, the federal government has legitimate concerns for national security and the orderly control of immigration affairs; and

     WHEREAS, the detention of thousands of asylum-seeking women and children does not resolve those concerns, especially when there are relatives, faith congregations and other community organizations willing to support them in the pursuit of their asylum claims;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the president of the United States and members of the New Mexico congressional delegation be respectfully requested to consider alternatives to the detainment of immigrant families seeking asylum in this country; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the president of the United States and members of the New Mexico congressional delegation.

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