Albuquerque Journal--But James Jimenez, the executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children, a nonprofit group that advocates for health care access and economic security, said he’s optimistic about the session’s final outcome. He also said changes to New Mexico’s tax code could bolster the state’s economic diversification efforts, adding that concerns raised by business groups are not new.
Santa Fe New Mexican--“We know that when aid comes to families, irrespective of their status, they spend it locally,” he said. “We’re hopeful that Congress and the president will recognize contributions that all immigrants make to New Mexico and the United States economically,” Jimenez added.
Aside from paying taxes, immigrants in New Mexico have $3.2 billion in purchasing power and immigrant-owned businesses have annual sales of $4.4 billion. Those are among the economic contributions immigrant residents make that support other local businesses and jobs. “Immigrants are actually twice as likely to start a company as are folks who were born here,” said James Jimenez, executive director of NM Voices. “These companies create jobs and economic activity that we would otherwise not have.”
Report Immigrants strengthen our communities in many ways - from boosting the economy and the labor force to paying millions in state and local taxes. Still, immigrants are not treated with the equity they deserve. The COVID-19 pandemic has made that more clear than ever. This report looks at the ways in which immigrants contribute, how they were excluded from federal pandemic relief, and what can be done to create a more inclusive state. (State-level data on population demographics and economic and tax contributions)
New Mexicans are already experiencing severe impacts of climate change – harming our health, air, land, water, and economy. The Climate Solutions Act (HB 9) would establish nation-leading carbon pollution reduction targets to benefit current and future generations while ensuring that all New Mexicans will benefit from the jobs and economic growth provided in a clean energy future.
Fact Sheet Court fines and fees for juveniles are harmful to youth and their families, racially discriminatory, and costly to administer. They can quickly amount to hundreds of dollars, resulting in a significant financial burden for New Mexico families, taking from them some of the very resources they need to invest in their children’s future and purchase food, education, housing, and health insurance.
Policy Brief Overproduction, a global price war, and the COVID-19 pandemic have led many oil and gas companies in New Mexico and across the West to file for bankruptcy. This means orphaned wells – inactive wells that bankrupt companies have failed to plug – are left behind to pollute the state, which also has to pay the clean-up costs due to inadequate bonding requirements. At the same time, the pandemic has resulted in revenue shortfalls for our state budget. (State-level data on orphaned wells, estimated clean-up costs)
Las Cruces Sun-News--“There's been policies over the years that unfortunately really haven't prioritized many communities and families of color in our state," Wallin said. "And Doña Ana County and Las Cruces have higher proportions of families that are families of color. We know that it's incredibly important to support our essential workers because we know that Doña Ana County has a higher proportion of essential workers as compared to the rest of the state and the rest of the nation.”
Santa Fe New Mexican--“We saw so many of the indicators of child well-being were really improving; then the pandemic hit,” said James Jimenez, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children, during a virtual news conference Wednesday. “Next year, we’ll see the damage the pandemic did in a statistical way. I know we see it in new reports every single day of how families are struggling.”
Albuquerque Business First--"...We can show our determination and resiliency through reimagining our state's policies to repair the fault lines that have widened along racial lines, by gender and by income levels since the pandemic struck," the summary said.