The Roundhouse in Santa Fe. Post file photo

By DANIEL J. CHACÓN
The Santa Fe New Mexican

Senate Republicans have set up an email tip line that allows New Mexicans to snitch on violent undocumented immigrants hiding from the law in their communities.

“We’re looking at the safety and welfare of everybody in the state, and that would include getting rid of the violent cartels — and I think on a federal level, that’s what we’re focused on,” Senate Minority Leader Bill Sharer said Friday on the Senate floor while announcing the new tip line.

The announcement raised some concerns for a Senate Democrat, who questioned how the information gathered would be used. Sharer said tips collected on the line would be shared with federal officials.

A news release issued by the Senate Republican caucus states “two types of critical concerns” can be reported to senate.minority@nmlegis.gov.

The first involves “any instances of unfounded action by federal officials against U.S. citizens or legal residents within New Mexico.” This comes after reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents harassing, detaining and questioning Native Americans about their citizenship.

The beefed-up immigration enforcement follows the inauguration of Republican President Donald Trump, who vowed to crack down on border security and initiate mass deportations.

“There is certainly fear among some of our Native American populations about what’s going on at the federal level, and I acknowledge that,” Sharer said. “I want to make sure that the world knows, and certainly the Republicans are concerned, about that fear and want to address that.”

The tip line can also be used to report “the presence in any New Mexico community of violent illegal offenders attempting to evade capture by federal officials,” the news release states.

“If there’s cartel members out there that are doing bad things, contact us so that we can get the federal government to protect our communities from the violent cartels,” Sharer said.

“We’re concerned about this on both sides,” he added. “The people of New Mexico need to be protected. They need to be protected from undue attention, but they also need to be protected from the violent cartels.”

Sen. Harold Pope, D-Albuquerque, told Sharer he had questions and concerns about the tip line.

“I appreciate acknowledging the fear that folks are feeling about what’s going on with immigration policy in our tribal communities, but I think communities in general,” he said.

“I applaud having a tip line and a call line, but what I fear with this is what’s going to be done with this information,” he added. “What agencies or how are you going to act on this information, one? And two, what’s to make sure that folks are [not] using this line to target folks or SWAT folks or do things like that? I just want some assurances that this isn’t used actually to cause more harm to folks that are in fear.”

Sharer said Republicans will contact “the appropriate agency.”

When it comes to reports of citizens facing harassment by federal agents, “We have some contacts already [at] Homeland Security and ICE that we could already talk to today,” he said.

“If it continues, we simply move up the chain of command,” he said. “Now, I don’t have [President Donald Trump’s] personal cellphone number, so I’m probably not going to call him.”

Sharer said cartels have “taken over” Albuquerque but are present statewide.

“Some of them, we believe, are going to hide in places where it’s difficult for our law enforcement to get to, and that’s on tribal land,” he said. “So, if there’s a tribal member that says, ‘Hey, this person doesn’t belong here, can you help us?’ then yes, we’ll do the same thing. But in that case, we’ll get through the tribal authorities. Well, we’re not going to do anything. We’ll ask the FBI or whoever to investigate that.”

Sharer said Republicans are trying to protect Americans, especially Native Americans.

“But we protect them also by taking the bad guys off the street,” he said.

Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque, said ICE hasn’t had a “good reputation of … respecting people’s Fourth Amendment rights or any rights at all.” She advised anyone who comes in contact with the agency to videotape the encounter.

“That is the most important thing I think people can do,” she said. “There are trainings about what to do, but if you see an interaction with ICE, I recommend you take out your camera and film the interaction.”

Sharer said in a statement the intentions of the Trump administration are to prioritize the apprehension and removal of violent criminals living in the country illegally.

“We support these efforts to improve the safety of our communities, and we encourage New Mexicans to help notify us if these violent criminals are hiding out in our midst,” he said.