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Tag: martin heinrich

  • Heinrich, Luján challenge Trump ‘targeting’ of DACA recipients for deportation

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    Supporters of the DACA program rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court, circa 2023. (Photo by Robin Bravender / States Newsroom)

    New Mexico Democratic U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján joined more than 40 Senate Democrats in calling upon U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Krisi Noem to make clear that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients have protection from deportation.

    DACA is a status conferred through a 2012 federal law that affords immigrants who were brought to the United States as children protection, also known as “dreamers,” from being deported for renewable two-year periods.

    According to a news release, the Sept. 3 letter to Noem stems from a statement made by DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, in which she said, “Illegal aliens who claim to be recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) are not automatically protected from deportation.”

    The senators’ letter notes that, “DACA was created to provide protections from immigration enforcement for certain noncitizens brought to the United States as children, also known as Dreamers, who undergo strict background checks and meet specific educational or work requirements. In contrast to Ms. McLaughlin’s puzzling statement, public DHS guidance makes clear that DACA holders are ‘not considered to be unlawfully present’ in the United States and that ‘[a]n individual who has received deferred action is authorized by DHS to be in the United States for the duration of the deferred action period.’”

    The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico recently sued Noem and other federal and local officials over the arrest and “indefinite” detention of a DACA recipient in a state immigrant detention facility.

    The letter urges Noem to correct McLaughlin’s statement “to accurately reflect DACA and ensure that DHS recognizes and abides by the protections of DACA moving forward.”

    Heinrich, Luján and other Senate Democrats also sent a letter earlier this year to the Trump administration pushing for it to reopen applications for DACA status, following a court ruling that paved the way for them to resume. In July, Heinrich introduced legislation to protect DACA recipients’ private information.

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  • AP Decision Notes: What to expect in New Mexico on Election Day

    AP Decision Notes: What to expect in New Mexico on Election Day

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    WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, Republican former President Donald Trump and five third-party candidates will compete for New Mexico’s five electoral votes, but the most competitive race on the ballot will likely be a U.S. House race that could determine control of the narrowly divided chamber.

    New Mexico was once one of the nation’s most competitive presidential battlegrounds, having gone for Democrat Al Gore in 2000 and Republican George W. Bush in 2004 by less than 1 percentage point. Democratic presidential candidates have since won seven of the last eight general elections in the state, where neither of the major party candidates has campaigned this year.

    In the U.S. House, Democratic Rep. Gabriel Vasquez is seeking a second term in the 2nd Congressional District against the Republican he narrowly defeated in 2022, former Rep. Yvette Herrell. Immigration has been a major issue in the sprawling district that spans the state’s entire border with Mexico. Republicans hold a slim majority in the House, and a Herrell victory would complicate Democratic hopes to retake the chamber.

    In the U.S. Senate, Democratic incumbent Martin Heinrich is seeking a third term against Republican Nella Domenici. She is the daughter of the late Republican Sen. Pete Domenici, who served six terms, from 1973 to 2009 and was the last Republican elected to the Senate from New Mexico.

    More than 60% of New Mexicans typically vote before Election Day. A 2023 law requires counties to post early and absentee results no later than 11 p.m. ET.

    Democratic presidential candidates historically have won most of the state’s largest counties — Bernalillo, which includes Albuquerque; Santa Fe, the state’s capital; and Dona Ana, in the south part of the state. Republicans tend to do well in the east of the state bordering Texas, and in San Juan County in the Four Corners area in the northwest.

    The Associated Press doesn’t make projections and will declare a winner only when it has determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race hasn’t been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, like candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear it hasn’t declared a winner and explain why.

    Here’s a look at what to expect in the 2024 election in New Mexico:

    Election Day

    Nov. 5.

    Poll closing time

    9 p.m. ET.

    Presidential electoral votes

    5 awarded to statewide winner.

    Key races and candidates

    President: Harris (D) vs. Trump (R) vs. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (DTS) vs. Chase Oliver (OTH) vs. Jill Stein (Green) and two others.

    U.S. Senate: Heinrich (D) vs. Domenici (R).

    2nd Congressional District: Vasquez (D) vs. Herrell (R).

    Other races of interest

    U.S. House, state Senate, state House, district attorney, bond measures, ballot measures.

    Past presidential results

    2020: Biden (D) 54%, Trump (R) 44%, AP race call: Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, 9 p.m. ET.

    Voter registration and turnout

    Registered voters: 1,361,117 (as of Sept. 30, 2024). About 43% Democrats, 31% Republicans and 24% other.

    Voter turnout in 2020 presidential election: 68% of registered voters.

    What to know about the 2024 Election

    Pre-Election Day voting

    Votes cast before Election Day 2020: about 85% of the total vote.

    Votes cast before Election Day 2022: about 63% of the total vote.

    Votes cast before Election Day 2024: See AP Advance Vote tracker.

    How long does vote-counting take?

    First votes reported, Nov. 3, 2020: 9:24 p.m. ET.

    By midnight ET: about 78% of total votes cast were reported.

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    Associated Press writer Maya Sweedler contributed to this report.

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    Read more about how U.S. elections work at Explaining Election 2024, a series from The Associated Press aimed at helping make sense of the American democracy. The AP receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Bipartisan group to introduce bill banning bump stocks | CNN Politics

    Bipartisan group to introduce bill banning bump stocks | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    A bipartisan group of lawmakers will introduce a bill on Thursday to ban the sale of bump stocks and other devices that enable semi-automatic firearms to increase their rate of fire and effectively operate as fully automatic weapons, the bill’s lead sponsor told CNN.

    Democratic Sens. Martin Heinrich and Catherine Cortez Masto, as well as Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic Rep. Dina Titus, have all signed onto the bill. The proposed legislation comes after two federal appeals courts ruled to strike down a 2017 ban on bump stocks from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

    The bill faces an uphill battle on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers have conceded that the recent shootings across the US are not enough move substantial gun reform measures through a divided Congress.

    Heinrich, Collins, Cortez Masto and Titus, however, argue their bill has a shot of garnering more support – even among conservatives reluctant to take federal action – given the courts recent rulings and the fact that the initial ban on bump stocks was approved by former President Donald Trump.

    Following the October 1, 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas – when a gunman used a bump stock to fire more than 1,000 bullets into a crowd in just 10 minutes, killing 59 people – the ATF, under the Trump administration, initiated its ban on bump stocks.

    However in January 2023, the New-Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the ban, ruling that it would require an “act of Congress” to federally outlaw the use of such devices. The Biden administration later appealed the court’s decision and asked the Supreme Court to weigh in, saying it “threatens significant harm to public safety.”

    In April, the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Cincinnati, similarly ruled that ATF went beyond its legal authority when it banned the devices by classifying them as “machine gun” parts.

    The lawmakers backing the new legislation, titled the BUMP Act, argue their bill is now necessary to enshrine a ban on bump stocks into federal law and prevent the Supreme Court from potentially striking down the 2017 law altogether.

    “In January, a federal court of appeals ruled that it would require an ‘act of Congress’ to federally outlaw bump stocks. Here it is,” Heinrich said in a statement to CNN. “Bump stocks exist to kill the most people in the shortest amount of time. There’s no good reason any person should have them in their possession. It’s past time we ban these deadly devices for good.”

    Both Heinrich and Collins were part of the Senate group that worked on the bipartisan gun safety bill that passed through Congress last year, and they hope they can apply a similar strategy to passing their latest measure. The senators have been in talks with a series of other lawmakers about potentially signing onto the bill and hope to add more cosponsors in the coming weeks.

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