News & Commentary
Latest Press Release
Feb 19, 2026
ACLU of New Mexico Applauds Passage Of Key Civil Liberties Bills in the 2026 Legislative Session
As the 2026 legislative session comes to a close, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico applauds partner organizations, community advocates, and many legislators for their work advancing civil liberties in New Mexico.
A New Phase in Civil Liberties Advocacy: Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going
For decades, the ACLU of New Mexico has worked alongside communities to defend civil liberties and expand the promise of the constitution. Today, with fundamental freedoms under intensifying attack and the stakes for our democracy higher than ever, that work has never been more urgent.
Jan 11, 2022
Base Pretrial Detention on Facts, Not Fear
Ahead of the 2022 legislative session, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and allied lawmakers are calling for legislation that would make it even easier to detain people accused of certain felony crimes before their trials, citing public safety concerns. The legislation they propose flies in the face of the core American principle of “innocent until proven guilty” by creating a presumption against release for people accused of certain crimes.
By Nayomi Valdez
Jan 10, 2022
Why this former prosecutor supports the second chance bill
Over half of U.S. states have either passed laws abolishing juvenile life without parole and creating second chance opportunities or they have never imposed such a sentence on children. New Mexico can look to the experiences that these other states have had with legislation like the Second Chance Bill to see that this type of legislation works. This legislative session, it is time for New Mexico to align with the rest of the country and pass the Second Chance Bill into law.
Dec 30, 2021
Brutality in the Borderlands
A New Mexico man seeks justice after a Customs and Border Protection officer assaults him
By Davida Gallegos
Dec 30, 2021
Lessons Learned: COVID-19 and Incarceration in New Mexico
It’s been one year and eight months since, at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ACLU of New Mexico first sounded the alarm of an impending humanitarian crisis for incarcerated people in the state.
By Katie Hoeppner, Lalita Moskowitz
Dec 28, 2021
Strengthening and Defending Abortion Rights in New Mexico and Around the Country
For nearly 50 years, Roe v. Wade has guaranteed the right to abortion in the United States. Now that right stands at the brink of collapse. I won’t mince words. I write with both a heaviness in my heart and a measure of hope that New Mexico can rise to the challenges before us.
By Peter Simonson
Dec 27, 2021
Failed Inspections, Understaffing, and Big Profits
How private immigrant detention centers in New Mexico benefited during the pandemic.
By Leonardo Castañeda
Dec 22, 2021
Shannon wants a second chance for her brother
Shannon’s brother was sentenced to 30 years to life when he was just 16 years old for his involvement in the killing of their grandparents. For many years, Shannon refused to speak to her brother or his former friends, but now she is an advocate for second chances. Shannon wants to see legislation passed in New Mexico to give people sentenced as children who have grown and changed a chance to petition for early release.
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