New Mexico state agency denies ICE request for worker records
A federal immigration agency sought direct access to (all) New Mexico worker and employer records last week, but permission was ultimately denied by a Cabinet secretary in Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration. The repeated requests from an El Paso-based U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official came just days before ICE agents raided several food-processing plants in Mississippi and reportedly arrested more than 600 individuals believed to be working in the country without authorization.
In one email, the ICE investigative assistant said agents already had access to a Texas workforce database and needed similar information from New Mexico for "criminal investigations". In addition, the ICE officials said the information would be used to provide agents with a “quick same-day response” – presumably regarding workers’ legal residence status.
Workforce Solutions Secretary Bill McCamley, who officially denied the request on Aug. 2, said the agency’s employment records include the names and address of all New Mexico workers – and those on the state’s unemployment rolls. He said denying ICE’s request for direct access to the worker database was the “right thing” to do. “We need to be extremely careful and protect people’s civil rights and personal information,” McCamley told the Albuquerque Journal. “Neither Gov. Lujan Grisham (D) nor I will work to destroy families,” he added. “We need communities where people feel safe.”
“It’s not a secret what they want this information for,” McCamley said, referring to the workplace ICE raids in Mississippi and other locations. An ICE spokeswoman in El Paso did not respond Thursday to questions about the federal agency’s request, and what it intended to do with the requested records.
https://www.abqjournal.com/1351579/nm-state-agency-denies-ice-request-for-worker-records.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
Good on Secretary Bill McCamley, and Gov Lujan-Grisham..
Proud to be a New Mexican every day now..
Feels good 