OPINION: On New Mexico's border, ICE's raids are making us less safe

If you log onto social media today, you’ll see a horrifying reel of ICE’s increasingly brutal immigration enforcement tactics.

It’s hard to stomach. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents tackling a mother to the floor of a New York City immigration court while her young kids watch. An ICE agent pointing a gun at bystanders while his masked colleague pins a man to the pavement in a busy Maryland intersection. And federal officers smashing car windows with infants in the vehicle, pelting tear gas and pepper balls at protesters, and using Tasers on U.S. citizens. The list goes on.

When someone poses a threat to public safety or breaks the law, they need to be held accountable, regardless of their citizenship status, but that’s not what’s playing out on our streets. The stark reality is that federal law enforcement’s increasingly violent immigration enforcement operations aren’t just un-American — they’re hindering local law enforcement and making this country less safe, especially for working class Hispanic people.

New Mexico has the largest Hispanic population per capita in the United States. We drive pick-ups, we work on farms, we fix our own cars, and we work hard for every dollar we earn. Yet, under this administration, we’re the targets in a political war that leverages violence, racial profiling and threats of deportation — including to legal permanent residents and American citizens.

I represent New Mexico’s second district, which includes 180 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, and I’ve heard firsthand from local law enforcement officials who say that ICE’s violent tactics are making it harder to keep our streets safe. When ICE tears hardworking families apart and treats law-abiding residents as criminals, it erodes trust in law enforcement and undermines the very institutions meant to protect us.

The impact of this dangerous trend can be deadly. In recent months, my office has heard multiple reports of enforcement against survivors of domestic violence and rising concerns that abusers are using the threat of calling ICE to silence their victims. Heavy-handed immigration raids are making it harder for local law enforcement to solve crimes like assault and theft, driving witnesses and victims into the shadows because they are scared to call the police.

Budgets are moral documents. They show, in black and white, what we value as a nation. Yet under Republicans’ “Big, Beautiful Bill,” the Department of Homeland Security got a $150 billion blank check the department is using to fund what is largely a political war instead of a true push for public safety.

If we’re serious about protecting families, we must put our money where our mouth is: Invest in proven, local strategies that actually make communities safer — community policing, mental health resources, addiction recovery programs and combatting youth violence — not in raids that terrorize our neighborhoods.

Even ICE’s recruitment tactics are making our streets less safe. In Albuquerque and elsewhere, ICE has attempted to recruit officers from local law enforcement, a desperate move local police chiefs rightly warn will compromise local public safety. Diverting local officers from investigating violent crimes, drug trafficking and cartel threats does nothing to make our streets safer.

It’s not surprising that both parties have gotten immigration wrong for so long. As a representative of a district on the southern border with a majority Hispanic population, I am using my expertise to lead the Democratic party toward the commonsense, pro-safety immigration solutions our country desperately needs.

Here’s the plan: Let’s invest in smart technology like cargo scanners, anti-drone tech and surveillance towers to keep our border secure. Let’s hold violent criminals accountable and recruit talented young people from across the globe to help the U.S. beat China in the artificial intelligence race. Let’s create legal pathways for those working in construction and caregiving to bring down the housing and child care costs for all Americans. And let’s ensure that our own government isn’t disappearing U.S. citizens in ICE detention centers.

Immigration is not an unsolvable problem. It’s an opportunity to make the United States safer, stronger and more prosperous. By ensuring our policies reflect our values — not fear, but fairness; not cruelty, but humanity — and listening to our local law enforcement officers, we can keep our communities safe. Our families and neighbors deserve nothing less.