Dispute over green chile enchiladas escalates to fatal shooting

Suspect accused man of serving him a spicier plate than others at Albuquerque apartment

BY MATTHEW REISEN / ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

August 30, 2026

A Roswell man is in jail after shooting a relative Thursday night during a dispute over the heat level in a plate of green chile enchiladas at an Albuquerque apartment, according to police.

Ervin Gutierrez, 22, is charged with an open count of murder in the death of 25-year-old Nathaniel Cavazos. Albuquerque Police Department spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said on Friday night Gutierrez turned himself in to police officers patrolling Downtown.

Gutierrez has been booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center. It is unclear if he has an attorney.

Officers responded around 10:45 p.m. to a shooting at the Copper Hills apartments at 4200 Spanish Bit NE, near Tramway and Montgomery. Police found Cavazos in a pool of blood on the sidewalk between the complex and parking lot.

Cavazos had been shot in the neck and died at the scene.

A cousin who lived with Cavazos told police that their other cousin, Gutierrez, was responsible for the shooting and had fled the area, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. The cousin said Gutierrez had come to Albuquerque to attend a job certification program and made a surprise visit to the apartment around 2 p.m.

The complaint said he told police the three of them got groceries from Smith’s and made green chile enchiladas while drinking alcohol. The cousin said “there was no conflict” until Gutierrez accused Cavazos of giving him hotter chile in his plate.

Police said the cousin told them Gutierrez challenged Cavazos to try the enchiladas on his plate before the cousin suggested they all go for a walk “to break up the tension.” The cousin said Gutierrez continued to provoke Cavazos, who eventually punched Gutierrez, sparking a fistfight.

The cousin told police that Cavazos got the upper hand on Gutierrez and he broke up the fight, according to the complaint. The cousin said Cavazos’ gun had fallen on the ground during the fight and the cousin picked it up and put it in his pocket.

Police said the cousin told them Cavazos was walking away when Gutierrez, who was bleeding from the face, pulled out a gun and said, “We’re family! How could you do this to me?” The cousin said Cavazos responded with, “Why you have a (expletive) gun on me and we’re family?”

The cousin told police Gutierrez fired at Cavazos, hitting him in the neck, and the cousin tried to take the gun from him but Gutierrez fled, according to the complaint. The cousin showed detectives messages on Snapchat in which Gutierrez said Cavazos threatened his life.

One message read, “Is he really dead? I did not want to kill him but I didn’t want him to kill me,” according to the complaint. Detectives noted that Gutierrez, who never mentioned being threatened with a weapon, was taller and 50 pounds heavier than Cavazos.

“Such a disparity undermines the purported fear for (Gutierrez’s) life he felt from an unarmed (Cavazos),” according to the complaint.

Flock cameras spark privacy concerns in Rio Rancho

Residents voice their opinions on the city’s 19 license plate reader cameras, while police cite crime-solving statistics

BY ISABELLA CAMPBELL / ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

August 30, 2026

RIO RANCHO — A clash over privacy versus public safety played out Thursday night as Rio Rancho residents voiced concerns about the city’s use of Flock cameras.

Four residents spoke during public comment at the Rio Rancho Governing Body meeting, questioning the technology and its potential for government surveillance.

“Rio Rancho residents did not consent to having their movements logged by private corporations and shared with federal agencies. This is a database of the innocent in the guise of public safety,” Joaquin Montoya said.

Montoya said he was speaking on behalf of DeFlock New Mexico, a group of New Mexico residents that opposes what it calls unregulated government surveillance.

Flock cameras are automated roadside cameras that photograph passing vehicles and record license plate numbers and vehicle details, including make, model and color.

Matt Griffin, a Rio Rancho resident, said he worries about what increasing surveillance could mean for future generations.

“I feel like the country I grew up in, America, the land of the free, day by day is becoming less free. I’m fearful for my 7-year-old daughter, what she’s going to be left with,” Griffin said.

Others questioned how the technology could be used by future administrations.

“Once that infrastructure exists, future governments inherit those capabilities, whether citizens approve of their future use or not,” said Chris Adams, a resident.

The concerns came less than two weeks after Rio Rancho police presented information about Flock cameras during an Aug. 18 governing body work session.

Police said the cameras have contributed to a 48% decrease in stolen vehicle reports over four years and have helped officers solve serious crimes more quickly.

“They solve crimes. They help officers solve crimes faster, locate people in danger, and improve police services throughout the department,” Capt. Richard Koschade said during the work session.

Adams questioned whether those benefits justify what he described as the mass surveillance of law-abiding residents.

“The question is whether those benefits justify tracking and storing information about the movements of large numbers of innocent residents,” Adams said.

According to the city’s website, the Rio Rancho Police Department began using Flock technology in 2021. The department currently operates 19 cameras throughout the city.

Mayor Paul Wymer said he has received positive feedback from residents who support the technology.

“I’ll also say I’ve heard, even though they’re not in the room, from equally equal people who have said and told me in writing that they are happy that these surveillance systems are in place,” Wymer said.

In Las Cruces, pushback and skepticism over Amira

AI reading assessments debated before LCPS board

BY ALGERNON D’AMMASSA / ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

August 30, 2026

LAS CRUCES — On Tuesday, 35 New Mexico lawmakers, including four Republicans, signed a letter to state Public Education Secretary Mariana Padilla expressing “serious concerns” about the use of a generative AI tech product for testing reading fluency in elementary schools.

The chatbot, Amira, is presented by the Amira Learning company as a “learning agent for reading growth.”

As of last school year, the Public Education Department requires all students from kindergarten through second grade to take reading assessments through Amira by reading out loud to the chatbot. The students’ scores are included in data used to assess the academic performance of school sites and their districts.

Over a dozen school districts and one public charter school have opted out of the PED requirement in favor of non-AI programs, at least temporarily, the PED told the Journal on Tuesday.

The Senate and House members who signed the letter, led by state Rep. Linda Serrato, D-Santa Fe, urged enhanced outreach to parents to inform them about the tool, require consent and safeguard children’s personal data, including recordings of their voices.

Parents and educators lined up at last week’s meeting of the Las Cruces Public Schools’ governing board, overseeing New Mexico’s second-largest school district, to push back against the rapid adoption of Amira. Additionally, board member Teresa Tenorio read pages of written comments from community members who were not present.

The district uses Amira for K-2 assessments and up to fifth grade for certain elementary schools based on their reading proficiency scores.

The dominant concerns expressed at the Aug. 18 meeting were the retention of voice recordings of children without knowledge or consent, as well as reports that the program does not perform accurate assessments of children with accents or challenges in hearing or speech.

On its website, Amira Learning states that it does not create voiceprints or store identifying biometric information and complies with all applicable student confidentiality laws. However, several who addressed comments to the board said they did not trust such assurances.

Commenters also criticized the growing role of educational tech products and screen time in the classroom, including for New Mexico’s youngest students, arguing it detracted from the personal connection between teacher and pupil.

Deputy Superintendent Wendi Miller-Tomlinson said the recordings were a document teachers could review to assess students’ ability to decode text, pronounce sounds and read with expression, tracking children’s progress through the “science of reading” approach, which incorporates interdisciplinary research into how children learn to read.

“This is a tool. Teachers use the tool,” she said. “I don’t believe that most teachers are over-reliant or relying on any platform or program to teach kids how to read. … They use it how it is best used for them, to get that data to help them inform instruction.”

Miller-Tomlinson said the student information captured by Amira was subject to federal and state privacy laws as well as contract terms negotiated by the PED during procurement. In light of community concerns, Miller- Tomlinson said Amira’s voice recordings will not be stored after the assessments are complete, and that LCPS had received confirmation that all recordings of the district’s students had been deleted. The district is also making in-person assessments available upon request, though Miller-Tomlinson noted that that option takes more time: Approximately half an hour, compared to 10 minutes or so with Amira.

Board member Bob Wofford asked for any data showing how well Amira is helping students compared to other programs or methods, but Miller-Tomlinson said little was available, as Amira is only in its second year at LCPS and the first year’s performance would be affected by classrooms learning how to use the program and equipment.

Moreover, Miller-Tomlinson suggested Amira’s days could be numbered anyway.

“The state is going to shortly release a request for proposal for a new K-2 assessment, and I don’t think that this would be selected again,” she said. “This assessment is likely either on its way out or to be joined with other options, if it were to be selected again.”

Haaland vs. Hull: It has become a horse race after all

by JAMES BENNETT / MANAGING EDITOR OF THE ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL

August 30, 2026

So much for the coronation. After Deb Haaland’s lopsided victory in the Democratic primary, conventional wisdom suggested New Mexico’s race for governor might be over before the general election campaign got started.

Haaland, the former U.S. Interior secretary and congresswoman, has national name recognition. She has an enormous fundraising advantage and is running in a state where Democrats have dominated statewide elections for a decade.

Republican Gregg Hull, the former longtime mayor of Rio Rancho, entered the general election considerably less known statewide. He has raised a fraction of Haaland’s campaign money.

A blowout seemed possible.

Not so fast. The latest Albuquerque Journal Poll, released Sunday, shows Haaland leading Hull by just 6 percentage points with 65 days remaining before Election Day.

Haaland is ahead, and she remains the favorite.

But 6 points isn’t a blowout. It’s almost within the statistical margin of error (plus or minus 4.3 points).

It’s a horse race. And perhaps the most remarkable part of the poll is that Hull has gotten this close despite raising less than $1 million for his campaign. Haaland, meanwhile, has raised millions. Her war chest will allow her to flood the TV airwaves with commercials from Labor Day until Election Day.

Already, Hull has demonstrated that money isn’t everything. He won the Republican primary despite being significantly outspent by his two major opponents. Now he is within striking distance of Haaland despite being dramatically outraised by her.

That should get the attention of both campaigns.

For Hull, the poll provides an opportunity. A Republican within 6 points in New Mexico with two months remaining can make a much more compelling case to donors — inside and outside the state — that this is a race worth investing in.

For Haaland and Democrats, the poll should be a wake-up call.

Haaland has spent much of the summer traveling around New Mexico, emphasizing personal appearances and face-to-face contact with voters rather than immediately unleashing her enormous financial advantage on television and other advertising.

There is much to admire about that approach. New Mexico is more than Albuquerque and Santa Fe, and candidates for governor should spend time listening to people in communities across the state in places as far-flung as Lordsburg and Hobbs and Farmington and Clovis.

But campaigns also have to define themselves — and their opponents.

Money sitting in a campaign account doesn’t persuade a single voter.

The Journal had an opportunity recently to get beyond the advertisements and talking points.

In August, Haaland and Hull separately sat down with Journal owner and Publisher Bill Lang and me for conversations over lunch. The meetings were largely off the record, and the Journal is not looking to make endorsements on its Opinion page.

During our time with Hull, he told us on the record that private polls were showing him within the margin of error. He explained he would not campaign negatively and would focus on issues.

With Haaland, I told her face to face that the Journal’s coverage would be fair and objective. She declined invitations to debate at the Journal or appear separately at a town hall during the primary season.

Honestly, Haaland and Hull displayed genuine enthusiasm about the race. And both clearly believe they can win.

New Mexicans deserve to see more of that.

The Journal, in conjunction with KOAT-TV and News Radio KKOB, invited Haaland and Hull to debate at the KOAT studios in Albuquerque last month. The campaigns opted for another debate opportunity.

We’re continuing our efforts to convince the former congresswoman to debate at least twice, understanding debate preparations take valuable time off the campaign trail. Hull has said he’ll debate anywhere, anytime.

It’s Haaland’s prerogative to debate only once, but forums and debates conducted by independent, objective news organizations make a difference. It’s where candidates can be questioned directly about the issues confronting New Mexico.

This state faces enormous challenges involving water, education, healthcare, data centers and affordable housing, to name a few issues. The next governor also will inherit tremendous opportunities, including historically strong state revenues thanks to oil windfalls from the Permian Basin.

Those issues deserve more than television commercials and campaign appearances. They deserve sustained questioning, competing ideas and candidates willing to defend their positions in front of voters.

Haaland remains the candidate to beat. She has the lead, the money and the advantage of running as a Democrat in a state that has increasingly favored Democrats statewide.

Hull has something else — evidence that he may be more competitive than almost anyone expected. He’s already proved once this election cycle that the candidate with the most money doesn’t necessarily win.

Haaland would be wise not to give him an opportunity to prove it twice.

Sixty-five days remain. And New Mexico has a governor’s race after all.

Haaland leads Hull by narrow margin in New Mexico’s race for governor

Democratic nominee holds 6-point edge over GOP rival as election cycle enters homestretch

BY DAN BOYD / ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL CAPITOL BUREAU

August 30, 2026

SANTA FE — With just over two months until Election Day, Democrat Deb Haaland holds a lead — but not an overwhelming one — over Republican Gregg Hull in New Mexico’s open race for governor, a new Journal Poll found. The poll found 49% of likely voters surveyed said they plan to vote for Haaland, who is seeking to become the first Native American woman elected governor in the nation’s history.

Meanwhile, 43% of voters said they plan to vote for Hull, the former Rio Rancho mayor who would be the first Republican to win a statewide race in New Mexico since 2016.

The remaining 8% of voters surveyed said they had not yet decided on who they would support in the November general election.

“It’s narrower than many people expected, including me,” said Brian Sanderoff, the president of Albuquerque-based Research & Polling Inc., which conducted the poll.

But he said Haaland is still well-positioned to win in November, citing a national political mood that favors Democrats and the Democratic nominee’s strong support among women and highly educated voters. “Despite the fact the race is closer than expected, Gregg Hull still faces an uphill battle,” Sanderoff said.

Haaland, the former U.S. Interior secretary under President Joe Biden and a former congresswoman, launched her campaign for governor in February 2025.

As of July, she had raised more than $13.8 million in her bid to succeed outgoing Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, with thousands of donations from around the country.

“Yes, I have a lot of $5 and $10 donations from across the country, but I have more contributions within the state of New Mexico than any of my opponents, Democrat or Republican,” she said in an interview before the June primary election.

While Hull has lagged behind his Democratic opponent in terms of fundraising, he has proven adept at capitalizing on a network of connections forged during his 12 years as Rio Rancho’s mayor.

Hull defeated two GOP opponents in the primary election — Doug Turner and Duke Rodriguez — despite being outspent in the race. In the process, he emerged largely unscathed by negative attacks.

“Gregg Hull has avoided being labeled as an ideologue, and he has portrayed himself as a bipartisan pragmatist,” Sanderoff said.

If elected, Hull says he would seek to make New Mexico more economically attractive by reducing tax rates, among other proposals.

For her part, Haaland has touted affordability as among her campaign priorities, while vowing to build more affordable housing for New Mexicans and expand tax breaks for low-income families.

A gender gap – and regional swings

While Haaland’s lead in the Journal Poll can be attributed to several factors, strong support among female voters could be the most pivotal.

The Democratic nominee received the support of 54% of women surveyed, compared to 37% who said they planned to vote for Hull.

In contrast, male voters preferred the Republican nominee, though they were more evenly split.

If elected, Haaland would be the third consecutive woman to serve as New Mexico’s governor, as Lujan Grisham was preceded in office by Republican Susana Martinez. Before Martinez, no woman had been elected to the state’s highest office.

Meanwhile, both Haaland and Hull received strong support from voters of their own parties, as 89% of Republicans said they would vote for Hull and 86% of Democrats said they planned to vote for Haaland.

That could make election turnout a key factor, as Sanderoff pointed out that Republicans have voted at a higher clip in recent elections when President Donald Trump is on the ballot.

Among independents, who have seen their ranks swell and now make up more than one-quarter of registered New Mexico voters, Haaland was outpacing her GOP rival. But 19% of independent voters said they had not yet decided who to support.

As in other recent polls, there was also a notable difference among surveyed voters by education level, as voters with a college or graduate degree were far more likely to express support for Haaland than for Hull.

Looking at the race by region, Haaland held a significant advantage over Hull in the Albuquerque metro area and in north central New Mexico, a traditional Democratic stronghold.

But Hull had a lead in other, less populated parts of the state, including in northwest and southern New Mexico, along with the state’s usually conservative east side.

Interestingly, the overall 6-point margin separating Haaland and Hull in the Journal Poll mirrors the final margin of New Mexico’s 2022 gubernatorial race between Lujan Grisham and Republican Mark Ronchetti.

Lujan Grisham won that race but will step down at the end of this year after eight years in office.

Methodology

The Journal Poll was conducted from Aug. 21 through Aug. 28. It is based on a statewide random sample of 516 voters who cast ballots in the 2022 and/ or 2024 general elections, and a sample of adults who registered to vote since January 2025 and who said they are likely to vote in the upcoming election.

The total sample of 516 voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points. The margin of error grows for subsamples.

The sample was stratified by race/ethnicity and county and weighted by party affiliation, gender and education level based on traditional voting patterns in New Mexico general elections, to ensure a more representative sample.

All interviews were conducted by live, professional interviewers based in Albuquerque, with multiple callbacks to households that did not initially answer the phone.

Both cellphone numbers (96%) and landlines (4%) of likely general election voters were used.

These NM restaurants were honored in Michelin’s first guide to the Southwest

Twelve eateries across the state picked up awards

BY NATALIE ROBBINS / ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

August 29, 2026

Michelin, the tire company- turned-restaurant-compendium, included 12 New Mexico restaurants in its first guide to the American Southwest, released Wednesday. The guide includes eateries in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Nevada.

New Mexico did not pick up any Michelin stars — the guide’s top honor, awarded in this case only to restaurants in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Salt Lake City — but the Land of Enchantment’s restaurants scored several other accolades, including best cocktails and best value.

Five New Mexico restaurants received Michelin’s Bib Gourmand award for good food at reasonable prices, including Albuquerque mainstay Frontier near the University of New Mexico.

The Michelin guide bestowed recommendations — food that is “above average, but not quite at star or Bib level,” according to the guide — for seven New Mexico restaurants: six of them in Santa Fe and one in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque.

Campo at Los Poblanos, the Los Ranchos restaurant that received a Michelin recommendation, was also given the Michelin Guide Southwest Exceptional Cocktails Award.

Michelin-recommended restaurants:

„ Campo at Los Poblanos, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque

„ Arroyo Vino, Santa Fe

„ Paloma, Santa Fe

„ Restaurant Martin, Santa Fe

„ Joseph’s Culinary Pub, Santa Fe

„ Market Steer, Santa Fe

„ Izanami, Santa Fe Recipients of Michelin’s Bib Gourmand award for high-quality food at good value:

„ Frontier, Albuquerque

„ Jambo Cafe, Santa Fe

„ Paper Dosa, Santa Fe

„ La Choza, Santa Fe

„ Tia Sophia’s, Santa Fe

Albuquerque becomes latest city to sue over cigarette butt pollution

Suit aimed at Big Tobacco but also local cigarette manufacturer and distributor

BY MATTHEW REISEN / ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

August 29, 2026

The city of Albuquerque is following in other locales’ footsteps by filing a lawsuit against Big Tobacco — not for the health costs but for the accumulation of butts in local waste.

The suit was filed Wednesday in 2nd Judicial District Court against several tobacco companies and distributors, including Philip Morris USA and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. The suit also names as defendants New Mexico companies Santa Fe Natural Tobacco — which makes Natural American Spirit cigarettes — and Blue Sky Distributors.

The civil action comes weeks after Denver and Sacramento County in California filed similar suits against Philip Morris and other tobacco companies.

In 2022, Baltimore filed the first such suit in a case that is ongoing, and in March, the companies filed a motion claiming immunity due to a 1990s settlement agreement over health damages from smoking.

The city of Albuquerque accuses the companies of several violations, including being a common law public nuisance, continuing trespass and negligence through design. The lawsuit seeks attorneys’ fees, punitive and compensatory damages, recovery of costs associated with cigarette butt cleanup and the companies to “fund, participate in, or otherwise bear responsibility” for abatement measures to address butt pollution on city property.

“Our storm drains should carry water, not toxic garbage,” Mayor Tim Keller said in a news release. “And the companies profiting from these products should take responsibility for the lasting harm they have on the environment and our essential systems.”

None of the defendants returned requests for comment Friday.

The first clause of the lawsuit quotes the Philip Morris International website: “By 2030, there could be more cigarette butts than fish in the oceans” but cuts the last part of the sentence — “if littering is not reduced.” The clause heads up PMI’s assurance that it is implementing strategies — providing butt disposal equipment, education on littering and shaming of those who do it — to reduce plastic litter from its products by 50% by 2025.

The city of Albuquerque said in the suit that “the widespread environmental deposition of discarded cigarette filters is neither random nor extraordinary.”

“Rather, it is the foreseeable, recurring, and statistically predominant consequence of the ordinary and intended use of filtered cigarettes,” according to the suit. Modern cigarette filters are primarily made of cellulose acetate, a synthetic plastic that does not biodegrade “under ordinary environmental conditions.”

The suit states time and exposure may cause the filters to fragment, but the associated microplastics and underlying material “persists in the environment and continues to require municipal collection, removal, management, and disposal.”

The plastics, with the help of rain and wind, make their way from sidewalks and parks to storm drains and waterways, according to the suit, which states the “widespread deposition of discarded cigarette filters is neither accidental nor an unforeseeable misuse of Defendants’ products.”

The suit states each filtered cigarette sold “creates a foreseeable risk” that its butt will be left on public property and impose “recurring operational, environmental, maintenance, and remediation burdens that continue long after the product has been consumed.”

The defendants also failed to adopt feasible alternative designs “that would eliminate or materially reduce the persistent plastic waste created by their products,” according to the suit.

The suit states, “Plaintiff alleges that Defendants knowingly externalized the foreseeable costs of managing persistent plastic cigarette filter waste onto municipalities while retaining the economic benefits derived from the manufacture and sale of filtered cigarettes.”

PMI’s website contains a 2020 video in which Senior Product Branching Scientist Stefanos Papakyrillou discusses why the company hasn’t moved to a paper filter for more biodegradability — “the consumer acceptance was very low to none.” Papakyrillou explains they were testing other materials as a replacement and hoped to find a material “biodegradable in all mediums” by 2025.

More recent ly, PMI unveiled its 2025 Roadmap, which did not appear to have identified a biodegradable filter material. Instead, PMI planned to substantially phase out cigarettes by 2030 and “maximize the benefits” of vape and other smoke-free products, “making them available in 100 markets… and continue to increase the total number of users.”

Prominent Texas Republican predicts GOP losses over data centers

One prominent Texas Republican predicts disaster at the polls if his party doesn’t take a harder stand against data centers.

By Molly Hennessy-Fiske for the Washington Post

August 28, 2026

HOUSTON — Texas’s outgoing agriculture commissioner is warning fellow GOP leaders that if they don’t take action soon against data centers, they could lose key races in November.

“I’ve been leading the charge against these data centers for a year or more, and it’s all falling on deaf ears,” Miller, who lost his primary election, told The Washington Post on Friday. “It’s going to hurt us in the midterms. I think we could lose some statewide races.”

Among the Republicans most at risk, he said: Gov. Greg Abbott, who is seeking a fourth term; Attorney General Ken Paxton, who’s running to replace Sen. John Cornyn; Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick; and Nate Sheets, who is running to replace Miller.

While Abbott proposed data center restrictions this month that Paxton endorsed, Miller dismissed the “flip flop” as toothless “political fluff” and “pablum.”

“People are not buying it,” he said, demanding that Abbott declare a moratorium on data centers and call a special legislative session to address them.

Miller said he’s talked to rural Republican voters who say they won’t cast ballots in certain races or who plan to vote for Democrats for the first time.

He said Texas GOP Chairman D’rinda Randall called him last week and accused him of campaigning with Democrats after he appeared at anti-data-center events. Miller said he resented being “chewed out” for “not being a team player.”

“The Texas GOP is committed to addressing the concerns surrounding data centers in a manner that aligns with our party’s values and priorities,” Randall told The Post. “I understand the diverse perspectives within our party and am focused on fostering constructive dialogue to ensure the best outcome for all Texans.”

NM sues over illegal border wells

New allegations of meter tampering, illegal pumping for border wall construction emerge

BY ALGERNON D’AMMASSA / ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

August 28, 2026

DEMING — New Mexico’s Office of the State Engineer is suing the federal government and three contractors over their drilling of unauthorized water wells to support border wall construction earlier this year.

The lawsuit, announced by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office Tuesday afternoon, presents new allegations of unlawful drilling and pumping from stressed water aquifers near the southern border, as well as meter tampering and unlawful diversion from existing wells.

The activity has permanently reduced pressure from a historic spring and could even complicate the recent settlement of a 13-year legal dispute over rights to water from the Rio Grande below Elephant Butte, the lawsuit argues.

State Engineer Elizabeth Anderson is seeking an injunction against the use of water from new wells developed at the direction of Customs and Border Protection, and repayment for water already pumped.

According to the complaint, the first report of a nonpermitted well near the southern border came in March from a rancher near Hachita. Inspectors from OSE learned that a drilling contractor had reached 540 feet of depth with plans to reach 1,000 feet.

The contractor allegedly told field inspectors that CBP had advised them no state permits were required because the drilling was on federal territory adjacent to the border, where President Donald Trump’s administration is building new border wall segments, roads and other border security infrastructure.

In all, inspectors reported seven wells had been developed unlawfully in the Hachita, Mimbres and Lower Rio Grande basins, plus “unpermitted diversions from a livestock well, switching of meters in violation of permit conditions, well-plugging in the absence of a legally mandated plugging plan, and collapsed boreholes that were either plugged without a plugging plan or left exposed.”

Subsequent field inspections allegedly discovered evidence of meter-tampering with a CBP well that had been permitted for border wall construction in 2025, obscuring whether CBP was staying within the limit of approximately 977,553 gallons per year.

Field inspectors also discovered unauthorized drilling activity in Luna and Doña Ana counties, where the latter could hinder New Mexico’s ability to deliver water from the Rio Grande to Texas under the Rio Grande Compact. In May, New Mexico, Texas and the federal government reached a settlement after 13 years of litigation and intricate negotiation over the vital resource. Although CBP announced its contractors would cease drilling new wells, the complaint states that OSE has received no commitment that the wells and boreholes would be properly plugged, that water illegally pumped would be repaid or that it would get the water it needs from other sources.

The complaint states that as recently as Aug. 20, three of the unauthorized wells were operating, with inspectors observing water trucks “actively filling at the site.”

The lawsuit names the United States as well as Montana-based Barnard Construction and two Arizona- based drilling companies as defendants.

Subcontractors Wyatt Drilling Arizona LLC and Cascade Drilling LP, both named in the lawsuit, received notices of violation from the state in August, jeopardizing their licenses to operate in New Mexico.

CBP and the contractors did not immediately respond to queries for comment.

The lawsuit, filed in New Mexico’s 6th Judicial District, seeks a court order barring the defendants from drilling more wells without permits or diverting water without securing a lawful water right. The OSE is also seeking plugging and remediation plans, and an accounting of how much water was illegally diverted with double repayment.

Trump administration sues New Mexico over in-state tuition for undocumented students

Arizona, Oregon and Washington also hit in latest round of suits

BY NATALIE ROBBINS / ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

August 28, 2026

New Mexico is one of four additional states sued by the federal government for providing in-state tuition to undocumented students.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed lawsuits against New Mexico, Arizona, Oregon and Washington on Thursday. In total, 21 states have been sued for similar reasons.

The complaint, which names the New Mexico Higher Education Department and Secretary Stephanie Rodriguez as defendants, contends that New Mexico’s policy to allow undocumented residents to pay in-state tuition at state universities is unconstitutional discrimination against U.S. citizens living in other states.

“This is a simple matter of federal law: colleges cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens,” Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate said in a news release. “This Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second- class citizens in their own country.”

HED spokesperson Auriella Valles said the agency was aware of the suit, though it had not yet received official court documents.

“New Mexico’s financial aid programs are designed to support residents pursuing higher education. Eligibility requirements vary across programs, but they are consistently grounded in residency and academic participation within the state,” Valles said in an email. “We are committed to ensuring that New Mexicans have reliable, structured pathways to afford and access higher education. We will continue to uphold our mission of supporting students, strengthening our workforce and advancing educational opportunity across the state.”

New Mexico has been granting in-state tuition to undocumented students — who are not eligible for federal student loans or financial aid — since the passage of Senate Bill 582 in 2005.

The bill affords in-state tuition rates to students who attended a New Mexico middle or high school for at least one year, graduated from a New Mexico high school or received a GED in the state, regardless of immigration status. It has since been codified in state law.

The DOJ lawsuit seeks to strike down the state law as unconstitutional and establish a permanent injunction prohibiting New Mexico from granting in-state tuition or financial aid to undocumented students.

New Mexico offers free tuition to virtually all documented and undocumented residents at the state’s 29 four-year and two-year colleges via the Lottery and Opportunity Scholarships. Nonresidents who attend the state’s flagship university, the University of New Mexico, pay $34,734 in tuition and fees per year.

Similar lawsuits against Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Kentucky have proved successful for the Trump administration — those states have ended their in-state tuition policies since they were sued.

“Over 30 years ago, Congress made clear that states cannot put illegal aliens before our nation’s own citizens,” Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. said in a statement. “By granting illegal aliens in-state tuition, Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, and Arizona are pushing citizens to the side and ignoring federal law. No more.”