Justice & Civil Liberties

America has made tremendous strides toward advancing and protecting our civil rights and liberties, but those rights are only real if every American benefits from them equally. From fighting for marriage equality, to protecting your right to privacy, to increasing transparency and accountability in government, to closing the gender wage gap, I will work to safeguard the rights of all New Mexicans. Together, we will create a fairer, more just tomorrow for our children.

Latest

  • Udall, Heinrich, Harris, Gillibrand, Luján Demand Investigation into Death of Felipe Alonzo-Gomez

    WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and U.S. Representative Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) wrote to leadership of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) demanding an immediate investigation into yet another tragic death of a child in U.S. custody, eight-year-old Felipe Alonzo-Gomez, near the U.S.-Mexico border – this time in Alamogordo, N.M. Felipe is the second child to die in CBP custody in December, following the tragic death of seven-year-old Jakelin Caal Maquin earlier this month. Read More

  • Udall, Heinrich Vote For Legislation To Reform Broken Criminal Justice System, Improve Public Safety

    Dec. 20, 2018) - U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined the Senate in voting 87-12 to pass the bipartisan First Step Act, an important step in reforming America's federal prison and sentencing system to reduce recidivism, save taxpayer dollars, and promote safe communities. The legislation uses evidence-based recidivism reduction programs to help inmates successfully return to society after serving their sentence. It also reduces some sentences for certain low-level, nonviolent offenders while preserving important law enforcement tools to tackle criminal enterprises. Read More

  • NM, TX Lawmakers Demand Answers on Death of 7-Year-Old Migrant Child in CBP Custody

    WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representatives Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.), Marc Veasey (D-Texas) and Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) wrote to leadership of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) demanding an immediate investigation into the tragic death of a 7-year-old girl from Guatemala who died on December 8, 2018, after being taken into custody with her father by CBP in Lordsburg, N.M. Read More

  • Heinrich Urges Reauthorization Of The Violence Against Women Act

    Dec. 13, 2018) - Today, in a press teleconference with the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native American Women, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) called for the reauthorization and expansion of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Nationwide, the number of domestic violence incidents has been cut in half since the enactment of VAWA, and in New Mexico that number has dropped by 35 percent since 2005. One in three women still face domestic violence in New Mexico. Read More

  • Following Washington Post Report, Senators Reiterate Calls for Full Disclosure of Trump-Saudi Business Ties

    WASHINGTON - Today, a group of 11 Democratic senators are reiterating their call for President Donald Trump and the Trump Organization to disclose any financial ties between the Trump Organization and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, following a Washington Post report that lobbyists representing the Saudi government paid for 500 rooms at the Trump D.C. hotel shortly after President Trump's election. Last month, after the Saudi-led killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Cory A. Booker (D-N.J.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Jeffrey A. Merkley (D-Ore.) wrote to President Donald Trump and to the Trump Organization seeking a full accounting of any financial ties between the Trump Organization and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but the senators never received a response to their inquiry. Read More

  • Udall, Heinrich, Harris Call On ICE And CBP To Release Documentation On Death Of Transgender Woman In ICE Custody

    Dec. 5, 2018) - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) sent a letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Ronald D. Vitiello and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan urging the immediate public release of a death review and supporting documentation on Roxana Hernández, a 33-year old transgender woman who died at a New Mexico hospital while in ICE custody. The senators have also requested documentation of ICE and CBP training related specifically to the treatment and safety of transgender individuals in custody. Read More

  • Heinrich Urges Increased Funding To Protect Places Of Worship, Community Centers

    U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined a bipartisan group of Senators in pressing for robust community safety funding in any FY19 appropriations package. Specifically, the Senators have called for a minimum of $50 million for the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) and $10 million for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Nonprofit Security Grant program which helps nonprofit organizations like religious institutions, schools, and community centers make security improvements. This follows the mass shooting last month at the Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh, the third mass shooting event in a house of worship in three years and the deadliest attack on the American Jewish community in our country's history. Read More