LAS CRUCES, NM—Today, the ACLU of New Mexico Regional Center of Border Rights condemned the New Mexico State House vote to repeal the law that permits undocumented immigrants to obtain New Mexico drivers licenses. The following statement can be attributed to Vicki Gaubeca, director of the ACLU of New Mexico Regional Center for Border Rights:

"It's disappointing that New Mexico House members have made anti-immigrant fear-mongering the centerpiece of their agenda. Rather than working to honor New Mexico's tradition of diversity and commonsense solutions, they're choosing to make it harder for immigrant families in our community to perform basic tasks like buying groceries or taking their children to school, while simultaneously making our roads less safe by decreasing the proportion of drivers who are licensed and insured."

###

The ACLU of New Mexico Regional Center for Border Rights advocates at the local, state, regional, and national levels for policies that protect the rights of people along the border.
 

DEMING, NM--Today, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico announced that it is representing a group from the Deming Pride organization who allege that employees at a Denny's restaurant in Deming, NM refused them service, called them homophobic slurs, and asked them to leave the premises. The ACLU of New Mexico sent a demand letter to the restaurant, asking the owner to issue an an apology and make a donation.

"I've never been treated that way before," said Deming Pride president Manny Carlos. "It made me embarrassed, because we were hosting guests from out of town and this wasn't how we wanted our community to be represented. In Deming, we are brought up to show respect to one another, and that's not at all what we experienced that night at Denny's."
 

%3Ciframe%20allowfullscreen%3D%22%22%20frameborder%3D%220%22%20height%3D%22315%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FZ7jQCjPyWjM%3Fautoplay%3D1%26version%3D3%26playsinline%3D1%22%20width%3D%22560%22%20allow%3D%22autoplay%22%3E%3C%2Fiframe%3E

Privacy statement. This embed will serve content from youtube.com.

The group stopped by the restaurant in the summer of 2014 after their annual Deming Pride pageant. The ACLU of New Mexico's demand letter alleges that the group, some of whom were in pageant regalia, were ignored by servers and not given any service for the better part of an hour after they were sat in the restaurant. When one of the group, a transgender woman, asked a server if they could be served soon, the server called them "faggots," "jotos" (a Spanish language homophobic slur) and refered to the woman as a "boy with tits." The group spoke with a manager and told him that the server was refusing them service and directing homophobic slurs at their party. When they asked the manager what he was going to do about the situation, the manager said that he could not force his employees to serve anyone they did not want to and suggested that the group leave Denny's and eat someplace else.

"We just want Denny's to know that the way they treated our group was not right," said Rose Pioquinto, who was among the group that night. "It was wrong, and something needs to be done so no one else is discriminated against in that way."

ACLU of New Mexico Cooperating Attorneys Brian Moore and Maureen Sanders, of Sanders & Westbrook P.C. in Albuquerque, NM represent the clients in this case.

Read a copy of the ACLU's demand letter to the Denny's restaurant: 1-19-15 Settlement Letter

ACLU alleges that Interstate Stream Commission attempted to bully concerned citizen into silence

ALBUQUERQUE, NM—Today, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico announced that it is defending Norman Guame, an environmental advocate, against a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAAP) filed by the Interstate Stream Commission (ISC) in an attempt to intimidate and silence Guame. In 2001, the New Mexico legislature made it illegal to file a lawsuit seeking money damages against a person in retaliation for conduct or speech made in connection with a public hearing or public meeting.
Guame, a retired director of the ISC, filed for a temporary restraining order against the ISC after he became convinced that they had violated the New Mexico Open Meetings Act during their consideration of a controversial project to dam the Gila River to supply water for area agricultural and urban needs. In retaliation, the ISC filed a lawsuit demanding Guame pay more than $100,000 in damages that they allege the restraining order caused the ISC in associated fees and delays.

“Governments shouldn’t use the courts to bully concerned citizens into silence,” said ACLU-NM Cooperating Attorney Daniel Yohalem. “People in our country have a fundamental right to petition their government concerning matters of public importance. When the ISC files a lawsuit seeking exorbitant amounts of money in retaliation for the simple act of speaking out, it has a chilling effect on the ability of citizens to participate in public processes.”

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution establishes that citizens have a right to “petition their government for redress of grievances.” The ACLU of New Mexico holds that Guame was engaging in precisely this constitutionally protected speech when he successfully petitioned the court to temporarily restrain the Gila River Diversion Project until the ISC restored transparency to the planning process. The ACLU of New Mexico also holds that the subsequent counterclaim that the ISC brought against Guame is a SLAPP suit meant to retaliate for his engaging in this constitutionally protected activity.

“My actions have always been a good faith effort to hold the ISC accountable to the laws of our state and the best interest of the people of New Mexico,” said plaintiff Norman Guame. “It is wrong for the ISC to abuse the legal system in an attempt to intimidate me and other concerned citizens into silence.”

Read the ACLU of New Mexico’s filed response to the ISC SLAPP suit.

ACLU-NM Cooperating Attorneys Philip Davis and Daniel Yohalem represent the plaintiff in this case.
 
###