New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) declared a state of emergency over crime in Rio Arriba County, the City of Española, and surrounding Pueblo areas.
The three areas requested the declaration due to rampant crime. From Lujan Grisham’s press release:
The emergency declaration comes as police calls in Española and surrounding areas have more than doubled in the past two years. Police dispatches to businesses in the area have quadrupled in the same period. Rio Arriba County currently has the highest overdose death rate in the state, with residents struggling with addiction to fentanyl and other illicit substances.“When our local leaders called for help to protect their communities, we responded immediately with decisive action,” said Gov. Lujan Grisham. “We are making every resource available to support our local partners on the ground and restore public safety and stability to these areas that have been hardest hit by this crisis.”Executive Order 2025-358 authorizes up to $750,000 in emergency funding for the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to coordinate response efforts and provide resources to affected communities.
Lujan Grisham stated that “homelessness, family instability, and fatal drug overdoses” contributed to the increase in crime.
The decision thrilled local enforcement, but the crime has been awful for decades.
“The thing about Española, it’s been generational. It’s not a secret that we’ve been dealing with drug-related crimes,” Chief Mizel Garcia, Española Police Department, told KRQE.
Garcia said the department has about 30 officers, but needs more to handle the volume of calls.
“A lot of the time, funding or the resources are not available for us, so we’re really looking forward to meeting with the governor’s office and the other three entities to see how we’re gonna best utilize that funding,” Garcia added.
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