FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, January 22, 2009 CONTACT: Whitney Potter (505) 266-5915 ext. 1003 or [email protected]
TUCSON, AZ—The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico today ended litigation against U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) authorities on behalf of two CBP agents. Supervisory Agents Juan Curbelo and William Leafstone, Jr. were returned to their regular positions this week and had all job privileges restored.
"We’re delighted our clients got the relief they wanted and deserved:  full restoration of their job duties,” said Peter Simonson, executive director of the ACLU of New Mexico. “Agents Curbelo and Leafstone rightfully spoke up against stopping vehicles without reasonable suspicion. This lawsuit brought to light that the practice of ‘shotgunning traffic’ is clearly unconstitutional.”
In December 2006, Curbelo’s ex-wife, Concepcion Curbelo, and his children were stopped by a Border Patrol agent during a “shotgunning” patrol near Rodeo, New Mexico.  The agent arrested Ms. Curbelo for allegedly possessing and trafficking marijuana, and took her to the Border Patrol station in Lordsburg.  A short time later, agent Curbelo received a copy of the incident report regarding his ex-wife’s arrest.  Both he and Agent Leafstone noted inconsistencies in the report that, they concluded, were intended to cover up the fact that Ms. Curbelo was stopped without reasonable suspicion.  A federal judge in New Mexico agreed and suppressed the evidence against Ms. Curbelo.
Agent Curbelo reported his concerns to the Office of the Inspector General, in January 2007.  Agent Leafstone testified at Ms. Curbelo’s hearing regarding the practice of “shotgunning traffic.”  The Border Patrol subsequently removed their badges and placed them on administrative duties. After initially receiving a notice that they might be terminated, the Agents ultimately received only minor disciplinary actions and then were fully restored to their jobs this week by their Chief.
The ACLU lawsuit was filed by Staff Attorney George Bach (ACLU-NM) and co-counsel Dan Pochoda (ACLU-AZ) on May 21, 2008 in U.S. District Court in Tucson, Arizona.

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The mission of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico is to maintain and advance the cause of civil liberties within the state of New Mexico, with particular emphasis on the freedom of religion, speech, press, association, and assemblage, and the right to vote, due process of law and equal protection of law, and to take any legitimate action in the furtherance and defense of such purposes. These objectives shall be sought wholly without political partisanship.
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html: Press Release (May 21, 2008)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, October 27, 2008

CONTACT: Whitney Potter (505) 507-9898; [email protected]

ALBUQUERQUE—The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico today sued key members of the Republican Party for violating the privacy rights of New Mexico voters and illegally interfering with their right to vote.  Filed in state district court, the class action suit alleges that NM Representative Justine Fox-Young and as yet unnamed members of the GOP illegally used private social security numbers to do background checks of legal voters and illegally disseminated confidential voter information to the press.  The lawsuit also names private investigator Al Romero, hired by the GOP, for using voter registration information locate voters and question them about the legitimacy of their registrations.

“Today we are declaring ‘enough is enough,’” said ACLU Executive Director Peter Simonson.  “We are not going to stand by and watch the Republican Party break laws to interfere with New Mexicans’ private and constitutional right to participate in the upcoming election.  Something had to be done immediately to confront these abuses, so we have taken action.”

In an October 16 press conference, Representative Fox-Young announced that members of the Republican Party used social security numbers from 92 voter registration forms, which they obtained from an as yet undetermined source, to run credit checks and driver’s license checks.  They sent copies of the forms to the press, including 7 unredacted dates of birth.
According to New Mexico state law, “It is unlawful for the qualified elector’s date of birth or any portion of the qualified elector’s social security number required on the certificate of registration to be copied, conveyed, or used by anyone other than the person registering to vote, either before or after it is filed with the county clerk.”  A person who violates this law is guilty of a fourth degree felony.

On October 22, the ACLU sent a letter to the NM Attorney General’s office calling for a criminal investigation into the matter.  The office has assigned an investigator but no further information is available.

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The mission of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico is to maintain and advance the cause of civil liberties within the state of New Mexico, with particular emphasis on the freedom of religion, speech, press, association, and assemblage, and the right to vote, due process of law and equal protection of law, and to take any legitimate action in the furtherance and defense of such purposes. These objectives shall be sought wholly without political partisanship.

Related Documents:

GOP Complaint

FOR IMMIDIATE RELEASE October 24, 2008

CONTACT:  Whitney Potter, Communications Director (505) 266-5915 ext. 1003;[email protected] or James Flores, Spokesperson for Secretary of State Mary Herrera (505) 476-0352; [email protected]

The New Mexico Women’s Justice Project, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico, and Secretary of State Mary Herrera announced an agreement to ensure convicted felons who have completed all probation or parole are able to vote in the upcoming election.
Under a 2001 state law, individuals who have completed their sentence are to be reinstated into the voter rolls by the State. This year, the State had a backlog of reinstatements for individuals whose voter rights had been restored. To remedy the problem of the backlog and make sure that people formerly convicted are given every opportunity to vote, the civil rights groups and Secretary Herrera agreed that the Secretary of State will:

• Issue a directive permitting anyone to vote on a provisional ballot who states that they should be permitted to vote because they completed the terms of their sentence under N.M. Stat. Ann. § 31-13-1 (2008), but who appears as an ineligible voter because of a felony conviction on the rolls.

• Waive any time constraints for qualifying the provisional ballot of these individuals, until such times as the Secretary of State can review them and cross-reference them with the information from the New Mexico Department of Corrections, New Mexico Administration of Courts, and the Federal Department of Corrections.

• Direct all County Clerks to issue a letter to anyone who has received a letter of rejection, clarifying that the individual may be permitted to vote on a provisional ballot.

• Enter all data of information for all persons with a prior felony conviction, now eligible to vote, into the computer system prior to this year’s election.

• Provide record of information of all individuals who have been sent a rejection letter or who have not been able to vote based upon a prior felony conviction.

Christina Vigil, Executive Director of the New Mexico Women’s Justice Project, said, “We were very concerned about the disenfranchisement of individuals with felony convictions who completed their sentence and were eligible to vote.  We are relieved that the Secretary of State’s Office has agreed to solutions, which ensure that individuals with past felony convictions will now be allowed to exercise their fundamental right to vote on Election Day and participate in the political process.”

“This is an important accomplishment that clears the way for thousands of restored voters to participate in one of the most momentous elections in recent history,” said ACLU of New Mexico Executive Director Peter Simonson.  “We are thrilled that the Secretary of State’s Office shares our commitment to voters’ rights and is willing to implement these critical changes, even so close to the time of the election.”

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The New Mexico Women’s Justice Project, Inc. (NMWJP), located in Albuquerque, is a non-profit organization that seeks to eliminate a broad range of systemic barriers to social, economic and political justice faced by women, girls and their families in NM. The NMWJP focuses on women and girls whose lives are affected by the criminal justice, delinquency and child welfare systems. The Project is dedicated to improving the lives of women and children who have been affected by poverty, addiction, mental illness, and the trauma of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse by providing research, policy development, education, and direct action for change that enhances lives while maintaining families and protecting our communities.

The mission of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico is to maintain and advance the cause of civil liberties within the state of New Mexico, with particular emphasis on the freedom of religion, speech, press, association, and assemblage, and the right to vote, due process of law and equal protection of law, and to take any legitimate action in the furtherance and defense of such purposes. These objectives shall be sought wholly without political partisanship.