ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham visited southern New Mexico on Friday to speak with fellow elected Democratic leaders and enterprise teams about financial improvement and to tour a army base close to the U.S.-Mexico border the place Afghan refugees are being housed.
The Democrat’s go to was not made public till late within the afternoon. Her workplace stated she walked by the processing area at Fort Bliss Army base, spoke with volunteers concerning the want for winter coats and different gadgets for these on the facility and noticed how the refugees had been screened for COVID-19.
“At any time when the federal authorities tells us they want our assist, New Mexico is able to assist these households on their method,” Lujan Grisham stated in an announcement after the tour.
There was no indication that Lujan Grisham visited the U.S.-Mexico border whereas within the space. She has confronted criticism in current months for not doing extra to handle the issues of residents alongside the border amid the latest influx of immigrants.
Republicans in New Mexico had been disillusioned earlier this week that she wasn’t among the many greater than two dozen governors who signed a letter to President Joe Biden in search of a gathering concerning the issues that border states are dealing with.
Lujan Grisham, chair of the Democratic Governors Affiliation and a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump’s immigration insurance policies, has stated that these with issues ought to direct them to the federal companies engaged on the problem.
Republican state Sen. Crystal Diamond stated she and others had been asking for months that the governor go to with ranchers and others within the area. She stated these pleas had been ignored.
“She’s not on the market listening to the wants of constituents,” Diamond stated. “So proper now we don’t want candidate Michelle Lujan Grisham on the border, we’d like Gov. Grisham on the border who will act in her capability as governor to offer us assist.”
Diamond famous that lawmakers held their legislative session earlier this yr in a closed capitol with a fence across the constructing whereas the border remained open and immigrants arrived within the U.S. amid the pandemic. She stated the well being and security of New Mexicans must be entrance and heart.
“Border safety isn’t a partisan problem, however she has continued to make it so,” Diamond stated of the governor.
The governor’s go to to southern New Mexico was billed by her workplace as a technique session with enterprise leaders and elected officers to speak about their issues and the way her administration can meet neighborhood wants. Conferences had been held within the border neighborhood of Santa Teresa and close by Las Cruces.
Lujan Grisham’s administration has constructed on the work of former Republican Gov. Susana Martinez’s administration to develop cross-border commerce and entice extra companies to the realm. In accordance with the state, a number of Taiwanese companies have introduced plans within the final two years to develop manufacturing house in Santa Teresa and create a North American footprint.
The state since 2019 has directed greater than $10 million in native financial improvement funds to Doña Ana County companies, leading to over 1,000 jobs. About $11 million in state job coaching funds have supported greater than 2,500 jobs.
