Democrats assail governor's immigration order

[The Northerner]

SANTA FE, N.M. — Democratic legislators on Thursday vowed to fight a directive by Republican Gov. Susana Martinez requiring state law enforcement to ask about the immigration status of criminal suspects.

More than a dozen House and Senate members opposed the governor's executive order, saying it would lead to racial profiling of Hispanics. They likened the policy to a controversial immigration enforcement law in Arizona and said it was contrary to New Mexico's tradition of cultural diversity.

"I just cannot believe that in a state like New Mexico and a governor with a last name like Martinez we are faced with a question like this. To me it's just unbelievable," Rep. Eliseo Alcon, D-Milan, said at a news conference in the Capitol.

Hispanics account for 46 percent of New Mexico's population, the largest percentage of any state.

Martinez issued the executive order this week, overturning a policy by former Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson that prohibited the state police from asking about immigration status solely to determine whether the individual was in violation of federal immigration laws.

Read more: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700106871/Democrats-assail-governors-immigration-order.html