in the news

LAS CRUCES - Over the past decade, an average of 720,000 immigrants have been naturalized each year, according to data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In New Mexico, naturalizations peaked at nearly 3,600 in fiscal year 2018, the latest year for which data are available.  This spring, however, U.S. Citizenship and...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said Thursday he’ll extend the public comment period on a contested plan that will guide oil and gas drilling and other development in an area of northwestern New Mexico that includes a national park and locations important to Native American tribes. A coalition of tribal...

The novel coronavirus raging in the Navajo Nation and New Mexico pueblos in part prompted U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to announce Thursday the extension of the public comment period on a plan that will shape the future of oil and gas drilling near Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Tribal officials have met with or spoken remotely...

U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich announced Tuesday that legislation to protect 450 miles of the Gila River system under the 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was introduced in the Senate late last week. Members of the agricultural community and some private landowners along the river, as well as the New Mexico Entity of the Central Arizona...

U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich introduced legislation Tuesday that would designate portions of the Gila River as Wild and Scenic, after a “years-long” effort to protect what’s known as one of the country’s last wild rivers.  The M.H. Dutch Salmon Greater Gila Wild and Scenic River Act would designate 446...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) –KRQE Media Group hosted a Special Virtual Town Hall on COVID-19 featuring both of New Mexico’s U.S. Senators Wednesday, May 13. U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D) and U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D) addressed the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic. The senators also answered questions from...

The most environmentally sensitive portions of New Mexico’s Gila River watershed would be protected under a bill the state’s two U.S. senators introduced Tuesday. Parts of the Gila River, its wilderness area and the San Francisco River tributary would be placed under the Wild and Scenic Rivers designation to preserve their natural...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, both New Mexico Democrats, have introduced legislation to designate 446 miles of the Gila River and its tributaries as “wild and scenic.” The “M.H. ‘Dutch’ Salmon Greater Gila Wild and Scenic River Act” is named in memory of the longtime Gila River...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico will soon receive its first shipment of the antiviral medication Remdesivir to help speed up the recovery process in COVID-19 patients. Sen. Martin Heinrich, in partnership with the University of New Mexico Hospital and state health department, have been working for several weeks to secure...

NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich announced Saturday that the state will soon receive its first shipment of remdesivir, an antiviral drug that could modestly speed recovery in patients infected with the coronavirus. Heinrich has reportedly been working with UNMH and the New Mexico Department of Health to secure...

Rep. Ben Ray Luján said he’s disappointed that funding for small communities struggling through the COVID-19 pandemic was not included in the last coronavirus aid package that provided additional relief for small businesses and the health care industry. Under the CARES Act, cities with populations under 500,000 could not apply directly...

U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, along with other senators, called on Congressional leadership to allocate at least $50 billion in emergency funding to stabilize the childcare industry. The National Women’s Law Center estimates that at least $9.6 billion is needed each month to preserve the nation’s childcare system during the pandemic....

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.- U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich gave an update Thursday to the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sen. Heinrich praised Vice President Mike Pence and Dr. Deborah Birx for their work with New Mexico. However, he was also critical of some of the response. "Where I will be critical of the federal response is that, across the...

The Mescalero Apache Tribal Council Monday joined the call for the resignation of Tara Sweeney, Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs for U.S. Department of Interior. The tribe, whose reservation lies in Otero County, but adjoins Ruidoso, sent the letter to President Donald Trump stating that the Tribe had grave concerns about Sweeney’s...

U.S. Senators want the Trump administration to remove what they call needless, bureaucratic restrictions on how states can use funding from coronavirus relief efforts. The Senators, including New Mexico’s Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall, argued that state, local and tribal governments should be able to use funds from the CARES Act to repay lost...

Earlier this month, I joined the White House task force on the reopening of the American economy in the aftermath of this public health emergency. During our first call, I was the first to speak directly to the president. I told him that if he wants to safely reopen our economy, without unnecessarily risking American lives, he needs to give all of...

SANTA FE – New Mexico’s two U.S. senators are wading more deeply into a stream access debate that’s been simmering for years. U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall, both Democrats, this week urged the state Game Commission to repeal a 2017 rule that allows private landowners to restrict public access to water flowing across...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —KOAT spoke to Sen. Martin Heinrich, who is in New Mexico right now, about how the state is handling the pandemic and what help is coming to the people who need it most. Here’s what Heinrich said when asked about New Mexico’s governor keeping nonessential businesses closed through May 15, and what he thinks about...

A key document in the yearslong process undertaken by the group planning a controversial diversion of water from the Gila River and its tributaries was officially released today, marking a milestone for the project. The Gila diversion, as it’s now envisioned, could annually divert anywhere from 349 to 1,845 acre-feet of surface and ground...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.- Lawmakers in Washington passed another relief package Thursday, which includes more money for small businesses that have been affected by COVID-19. The bill includes $380 billion for small businesses, $75 billion for hospitals and $25 billion for COVID-19 testing. The bill pours more money into the Paycheck Protection Program,...