Ranchers and Hidalgo County officials hope the state can help fund more deputies. They also want Santa Fe politicians to see what they are seeing. In early January, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham visited the Santa Teresa Port of Entry in Dona Ana County and said she didn't see a crisis.
“While I've been to this area of the border many times, I haven't seen anything that indicates that we have an emergency crisis here at the border and that's important to talk to New Mexicans about and I also think it's important to talk to the nation about.”
The governor’s words deeply offended the ranchers.
“The asinine idea that these politicians spout out that ‘oh our border is secure, there is not a crisis here.’ For them, there is not. They live in Washington or they live in Santa Fe and they only come here to secure ports. It's a crock. And it's absolutely insulting to the people who live down here," Kris Massey stated during an impromptu town hall.
In response to the ranchers' thoughts, the governor’s spokesman sent a statement:
“There is not an emergency crisis at the border that warrants the asinine and anti-American anti-immigration tactics endorsed by the president and his minions; that’s the proper context for the governor’s remarks, and the full story of what she was expressing. No doubt, as she mentioned many, many times at the border, and as I’m sure you mentioned to these ranchers, one of her key priorities is doing the work to ensure the public safety of New Mexicans, making data-driven decisions instead of political decisions, and the chance to begin to identify what is working and what is not working was one of the key rationales for her visit to the border. That was made abundantly clear in her remarks at the border. What will not work is a wall; what isn’t working currently is treating asylees like criminals. That is what she meant by that comment, and one would hope these folks can see the context in which it was presented, and the governor recognizes their concerns.” -- Tripp Stelnicki, spokesman for Gov. Lujan Grisham.