By: Representative Jenifer Jones (District 32) and Representative Luis Terrazas (District 39)

 “In January of this year, we combined our efforts to appropriate $320,000 to help law enforcement acquire technology, like license plate reading cameras. We are pleased to see that this month, the New Mexico State Police deployed 20 LPR units. As proud as we are to help equip the men and women who risk their lives to protect our families, these units are just a drop in the bucket.”

As representatives of the southernmost districts in New Mexico, we are among those living, working, and raising families on the frontline of the southern border crisis.

In April, the New Mexico House Republican Caucus toured New Mexico's southern border - if it can be considered a border in its current state.

For many, it was a startling experience to speak with law enforcement agents about the dangers of this crisis for themselves, innocent children left to die by cartel traffickers, and the unfathomable amounts of fentanyl flowing into our border communities.

For families in our districts, those tragic stories have become the new normal. Not a week goes by that we don't hear from concerned parents, business owners, and law enforcement agents about the daunting symptoms of this crisis.

Human trafficking, drug smuggling, and cartel violence has crossed the border into our neighborhoods.
In the best of times, the job of New Mexico law enforcement agents is thankless and dangerous. In the last four years, the dire consequences of our open southern border has only made the job of stopping crime more perilous. While our law enforcement agencies remain under-supported and law enforcement officers outnumbered, our communities are vulnerable.

After consulting with law enforcement agencies and border patrol agents across Catron, Dona Ana, Grant, Hidalgo, and Luna counties, we learned about the desperate need for technology to combat the increase in crime - especially near the border.

In particular, license plate reading cameras or LPR units were requested as a force multiplier in the absence of much-needed manpower and other resources. These cameras help law enforcement officers identify whether a car is connected to someone who has committed a crime, has an outstanding warrant, missing persons, and can also be used to identify and track drug and human trafficking patterns.

In January of this year, we combined our efforts to appropriate $320,000 to help law enforcement acquire technology, like license plate cameras. We are pleased to see that this month, the New Mexico State Police deployed 20 LPR units.

As proud as we are to help equip the men and women who risk their lives to protect our families, these units are just a drop in the bucket.

As the southern border remains open to deadly drugs and far-left leadership continues to refuse any efforts to hold criminals accountable, the work of New Mexico law enforcement will become more treacherous every day.

This month, state lawmakers were called to Santa Fe for a special session on public safety. Republicans showed up ready to work on ending fentanyl trafficking, protecting our children from drug exposure, keeping violent criminals off our streets, and protecting homeowners from organized theft.

To the great disappointment of our constituents - the opportunity was squandered by our colleagues across the aisle. Not a single bill to lighten the burden on our law enforcement agencies was allowed to be considered. This inaction left little to the imagination as to why New Mexico was recently ranked as the most dangerous state in America.

Until liberal legislators get serious about the border and crime crisis in New Mexico, these uphill battles our law enforcement agents are facing will only worsen. Until they are willing to put public safety over politics, the men and women who defend our safety will be left defenseless.