Border Network Communities Statement on New Mexico Drivers Licenses for All
El Paso TX/Southern New Mexico. – Community members representing families residing in Southern New Mexico will travel to Santa Fe tomorrow, January 26th, to advocate driver license policy in the state. Nativist politicians and anti-immigrant agendas are pushing legislators to eliminate the state’s driver licenses for all. Others are proposing to issue marked and differentiated licenses for immigrant families.
The Border Network for Human Rights and southern New Mexico residents are concerned that proposed two-tiered systems, will target immigrant families, putting them at risk of discrimination, and unequal treatment. Such proposals risk violating the equal protection under the law provided to all persons by the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution.
The clear and ill-conceived intent of New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, along with other New Mexico politicians, is to eliminate a constructive approach that has helped the State to better integrate immigrant and keep families together. These proposals would also undercut other benefits of the current driver license policy, which has fostered safety on the roads, and enhanced State’s economy. The current proposal to eliminate or change such a policy needlessly creates division, facilitates hate, and will hurt all New Mexicans.
We appeal to the intelligence of the New Mexico Legislature and Governor Susana Martinez to reject racist and discriminatory proposals and to support the safety, economy, and community values of all New Mexicans.
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The Border Network for Human Rights, founded in 1998, is one of the leading human rights advocacy and immigration reform organizations located at the U.S./Mexico Border. BNHR has over 7,000 members in West Texas and Southern New Mexico.
