A Trump Lawsuit, Oil Money — and a Little Something Different

By now, most of you know the Trump administration has sued New Mexico and the City of Albuquerque over their immigration enforcement policies. This week, we get some local reaction from the Albuquerque city councilor and the state representative who sponsored the laws that drew the Trump Justice Department’s ire. 

And on the foreign policy front, Trump’s war in Iran has just crossed the three-month mark. And its impact on the financial picture in New Mexico has created an interesting dilemma for politicians. A huge spike in oil prices has sent tens of millions of dollars flooding into the state’s coffers — but in deep blue New Mexico, backstroking in cash from Trump’s war isn’t the easiest needle to thread for the two Democrats running for governor. We brought in New Mexico’s leading budget expert and a longtime statehouse journalist to help us wade through the muck. 

NMiF reporter Cailley Chella has a piece this week about a tiny home village for homeless veterans near Socorro that was allegedly burned to a crisp by one of its residents earlier this year. Cailley’s story focuses on the rebuilding effort now under way. 
 
As the primary election rapidly approaches — it’s on Tuesday — we wanted to direct your attention one more time to the Democratic candidate debate between Sam Bregman and Deb Haaland that we broadcast on May 7.  It’s worth a rewatch if you’re planning to vote in that primary and still haven’t made up your mind. 

And I am delighted to publish this week a terrific piece of news analysis by independent journalist Lauren Lifke. I’ve been watching with interest Lauren’s progression since her time at the Daily Lobo, UNM’s student newspaper. So, when she pitched me a story in which she’d comb through the debate looking for logical fallacies Bregman and Haaland trotted out to avoid answering questions head-on, I said yes immediately.

I hope you’ll read Lauren’s piece. 

– Jeff Proctor, Executive Producer