SILVER CITY, NM– PETER CHASE an Albuquerqueresident, has been selected as the winner in the Southwestern Chapter of the ACLU-NM’s Annual Singer/Songwriter Competition.  He has performed at, Jamm Music Fest in Jemez Springs, Glenwoodstock and Soccorofest.  In 2008 he took third place in the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival Songwriting Competition, and in 2010, won Honorable Mention from the same festival.   His latest CD, "Special Deluxe," is his twelfth collection of original songs.  Peter was one of three finalists in the 2012 and 2013 competition, and has been selected to for his submission Attica, a lament on the horrific nature of prisons, this year’s theme.   This is the fifth consecutive year that the Southwestern Chapter of ACLU-NM has sponsored a competition for singer/songwriters on a topic of Constitutional Rights as part of their Annual Meeting.  This year’s competition began with performers fromNew Mexico, Southern Arizona, andWest Texas being invited to submit entries.  Peter Chase will be performing his winning entry, as well as his entries from previous years’ competitions at the Annual Meeting of the Southwestern Chapter of the ACLU of New Mexico.
 
The Southwestern Chapter of the ACLU of New Mexico incorporates the counties of Grant, Catron, Luna, andHidalgo. Their Annual Meeting, open to all members and the public, will be held on Friday, October 24, 2014 at the Woman’s Club inSilverCity.  The event, beginning at 6:00 PM, will include addresses by knowledgeable speakers on the subject of Prisons and Incarceration; as well as the performance by Peter Chase.
 
MATTHEW ELWELL – The Director of theLunaCountyDetentionCenter, and the former Operations Administrator at theBernalilloCountyMetropolitanDetentionCenter.   Mr. Elwell will be discussing State and Local policies and initiatives forDetentionCentersand Prisons, as well as some of the issues being faced by them.
 
PETER OSSORIO – An ACLU-NM Board Member fromLas Cruces, an Attorney, and a former Federal Prosecutor has a unique perspective on the topic, having been a jailer prior to becoming a lawyer.  Mr. Ossorio will discuss the increasing dependence on incarceration in the State and Nation.  He will also touch on the topics of jails being used to house the mentally ill, imprisonment for Marijuana possession, and profusion of For-Profit Private Prisons.
 
The Doors will open at the Woman’s Club located at1715 Silver Heights Blvd(HWY 180) inSilverCityat 6:00 PM, and the program will begin at 6:30 PM.  Light refreshments, good music, good conversation will be available for free.
 

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LAS CRUCES, NM—Today, the Doña Ana County Board of County Commissioners voted and passed a resolution establishing the county as a “Safe Community for All Residents.” The resolution joins Doña Ana County with countless communities across the nation, including major urban centers, which have passed similar resolutions stating that routine enforcement of federal immigration law is not the job of county employees.

“We applaud the Commissioners for recognizing that local efforts to enforce immigration law undermine public safety for all of us by making our neighbors fearful of county employees, including first responders,” stated Vicki Gaubeca, Director of the ACLU of New Mexico Regional Center for Border Rights (RCBR). “It’s also about fairness in our community, as local police too often resort to profiling to enforce immigration law, a practice that is ineffective, unconstitutional and un-American.” 

In the last year, RCBR staff provided 79 know your rights presentations reaching over 1,500 residents throughout Doña Ana County and southern NM. 
“We can’t have a situation where a victim of domestic violence is afraid to get help because they think the police might ask about their immigration status,” said Brian Erickson, Policy Advocate with the RCBR. “We spend a lot of time out in the community, and this really is a serious worry for a lot of people. This new policy makes us all safer by ensuring that no one is ever afraid to call the police when they or someone else is a victim of a crime.”

Under the resolution, county employees will be prohibited from using county resources or funds to inquire into the immigration status of an individual, condition services based on one’s status, or collaborate with federal officials to investigate immigration status unless otherwise required by federal or state statute, regulation or court decision.
 

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