ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Immigrant-rights groups in New Mexico say they are preparing for the upcoming immigration changes with planned legal clinics and by reaching out to oil field workers.
The New Mexico Immigrant Law Center said this week it will launch a text-messaging system targeting immigrants around the state and will use Skype to help immigrants living in rural areas.
“It’s a collaboration of a number of different groups,” said Megan Jordi, the center’s legal director. “We’ve already launched a website, which will be updated as we get new information from D.C.”
The website - listonm.org - will be aimed at educating immigrants about new options and warning them about potential scams, Jordi said. At legal clinics, volunteers will help immigrants fill out the proper forms and walk them through the process, she said.
Advocates have scheduled a news conference Friday in Albuquerque to discuss changes and where immigrants could go for help.
Meanwhile, the Santa Fe-based Somos Un Pueblo Unido said advocates will reach out to workers in the eastern part of the state, where the oil and gas industries are booming. The group said the changes could help those workers immediately get higher-paying jobs.
Marcela Diaz, executive director of the group, said the oil region has relied on immigrant works for years and they are ready to live without fear of deportation or being separated from family members. “It’s important for them to tell their stories and show how they already contribute to our economy,” Diaz said.
President Barack Obama is expected Thursday to reveal a long-awaited executive action to protect many of the estimated 11 million people in the country illegally from deportation.
The announcement comes as the Obama administration is set to close a temporary family immigration detention center in rural New Mexico by the end of the year. That facility has drawn scrutiny from both sides of the immigration debate because of living conditions and the rate of release.
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