Human trafficking operation yields arrests and rescues, but NM officials say fight far from over

SANTA FE — A 12-day law enforcement operation targeting human trafficking in southern New Mexico resulted in more than 90 migrants being rescued and at least 16 individuals arrested on state-level charges.

But Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and top state law enforcement officials said Tuesday the operation — dubbed “Operation Disruption” — also revealed shortcomings in New Mexico’s human trafficking laws, which the governor said she would seek to change during the upcoming legislative session.

Flanked by U.S. Border Patrol and state law enforcement officials at a news conference announcing the operation’s results, Lujan Grisham vowed to sustain the efforts to disrupt the activities of drug cartels and other organized criminal organizations.

“Every resource that we can deploy to the border, we will deploy,” she said.

However, she also drew distinctions between her administration’s approach to border issues and that of neighboring Texas, which has deployed National Guard troops to the southern border with Mexico and installed more than 100 miles of concertina wire to deter individuals from trying to cross the border.

“Without picking on one governor or another, I have a different strategy,” Lujan Grisham said.

“I think I might have a different political opinion about the value of human life from a lot of folks in elected positions,” she added, while saying her remarks were directed more at members of Congress than at Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

As for the proposed changes to the state’s human trafficking laws, Lujan Grisham spokesman Michael Coleman said the governor would like to see the definition of human trafficking expanded and reduce the need for victims to testify in order to prosecute cases.

The human trafficking operation began in mid-August and was focused in Doña Ana and Luna counties, and specifically in the border communities of Santa Teresa and Sunland Park, New Mexico State Police Chief Troy Weisler said.

It involved nearly 20 law enforcement agencies working together, including agencies in Texas and Mexico. The operation was jointly led by the New Mexico State Police and the New Mexico Organized Crime Commission.

Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman, who is the crime commission’s chairman, said the effects of human trafficking are not limited to the border area, citing a weekend shooting in Albuquerque at a stash house where 15 migrants were being held.

“We know there are stash houses in Albuquerque, and we’re coming for them,” Bregman said during Tuesday’s news conference.

“Our goal is to disrupt the cartels and let them know New Mexico is not open for business,” he added, while describing human trafficking as modern-day slavery.

While the human trafficking operation ended last week, Bregman said its impacts could continue to be felt for months as criminal investigations are underway into some of the findings.

But state officials said disrupting cartel activities was only one of the operation’s goals, with migrant safety being the top priority.

In all, the just-ended human trafficking operation identified 33 stash houses where migrants are held around New Mexico.

U.S. Border Patrol officials reported a record high of about 900 migrant deaths along the southwest border during the 2022 budget year, with about 22,000 migrants being rescued.

However, the overall number of U.S. Border Patrol encounters with migrants has declined this year, reaching its lowest level in four years, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

Meanwhile, state Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce accused Lujan Grisham of trying to use the human trafficking operation for political gain.

“Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is another Democrat who is adopting Republican policies to bolster her party’s chances before the upcoming election,” Pearce said in a Tuesday statement, while citing the governor’s decision to withdraw New Mexico National Guard troops from the border after taking office in 2019.

At the time, Lujan Grisham accused then-President Donald Trump of a “charade of border fear-mongering” and described border communities as largely safe.

“It’s too bad that she waited until the border crisis claimed so many victims to finally take action,” Pearce added. “She could have implemented these measures on day one to prevent many of the tragedies caused by human and drug trafficking and other criminal activity.”