Thread: New Mexico Gov.-Elect Has Her Own Ideas on Border Control

New Mexico Gov.-Elect Has Her Own Ideas on Border Control

USA TODAY
November 9, 2010
By ALAN GOMEZ

The GOP wrestled control of the New Mexico governor's office from the Democrats last week, but don't expect the border state to adopt the tough anti-illegal immigration law of its neighbor, Arizona.

Republican Gov.-elect Susana Martinez told Spanish-language cable network Univision over the weekend that she will not embrace the most contentious aspect of Arizona's law, which requires police officers to determine a suspect's immigration status if the person is stopped and there is "reasonable suspicion" the person is in the USA illegally.

That portion of the law was blocked by a federal judge; Arizona is appealing.

Despite her reluctance to follow Arizona, Martinez has been a very vocal opponent of the state's law that allows illegal immigrants to receive driver's licenses.

Republicans were favored by 33 percent of Hispanic voters nationwide, according to exit polls conducted for the television networks and the Associated Press.

Martinez adviser Danny Diaz said she won 40 percent of the Hispanic vote in her state, helping her beat Democratic Lt. Gov. Diane Denish to replace Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson, who could not run again because of term limits.

Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, which supports a process for some illegal immigrants to become citizens, said those numbers show that Martinez pulled off "the perfect triangulation" of her constituency.

Noorani said Martinez's strategy will be something to mirror in the 2012 election for a party struggling to win over Hispanics.

"What we're going to see is Republicans moving to the right of center on immigration policy, but trying to do so in a way that makes it unclear to their base what their true intentions are," he said.

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates tighter illegal immigration controls, said Martinez's stance on Arizona's law won't upset conservatives because she embraces other stronger versions of illegal immigration control.

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Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates tighter illegal immigration controls, said Martinez's stance on Arizona's law won't upset conservatives because she embraces other stronger versions of illegal immigration control.

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N.M. governor-elect says 'no' to Ariz.-style immigration law
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