N.M. Congressional Delegation Welcomes $16.6 Million to Support Safe, Orderly and Humane Asylum Process in New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. SenatorMartin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee,U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), and Gabe Vasquez(D-N.M.) arewelcoming $16.6 million from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded to organizations in New Mexico that are helping U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) maintain order at the border by assisting asylumseekers who are lawfully processed into the United States.

The funding, provided through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and CBP, comes through the Shelter and Services Program (SSP), which the delegation secured $650 million for in the Fiscal Year 2024 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill that passed earlier this year. 

The funding announced today includes:

Through the Shelter and Services Program, DHS directly supports state, local, and non-profit service providers who assist the federal government by providing essential services—such as food, shelter, clothing, acute medical care, and transportation—to individuals and families after they leave Department of Homeland Security custody and await their immigration court proceedings. 

SSP is the successor program to Heinrich’s successful, bipartisan negotiations in 2019 to authorize reimbursement of funds for localities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in New Mexico and elsewhere under the already existing Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) at FEMA. 

“I’m grateful to the many New Mexicans who have stepped up to help migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers who have arrived in our country, abiding by all of the requirements of our asylum system. But our local communities, churches, and nonprofits should not have to bear the financial burden of our nation’s broken immigration system. That’s why I spearheaded the original bipartisan effort to deliver funding for these organizations, and it’s why I am pleased to deliver these Shelter and Services Program funds now to continue supporting our communities,” said Heinrich. “I will keep working to secure funding to ensure New Mexico’s communities are equipped with the resources necessary to support those awaiting their immigration court dates or enroute to their sponsors.And I will keep calling on Republicans to come back to the table to fix our badly broken immigration system. New Mexicans should not have to shoulder the burden of Republicans’ inaction.”

“I am proud to welcome over $16.6 million in funding from the Department of Homeland Security’s Shelter and Services Program for New Mexico,” said Luján. “This funding will help communities support noncitizens awaiting immigration court and reduce overcrowding in CBP facilities. It underscores a commitment to addressing humanitarian needs and strengthening our immigration system.”

"Our immigration system is broken, and we must work to secure the bipartisan immigration reform that Americans want," said Stansbury. "While the GOP continues to stall, it is vital to support programs in our cities that are assisting migrants. This funding from the Biden Administration is essential to meeting the needs of the men, women, and families arriving in the United States."

“I’m proud to welcome more than $16 million in funding for critical programs to lighten the burden on communities in Southern New Mexico, allowing them to dedicate more resources to protecting and caring for our rural communities,” said Vasquez. “This is one of many ways we are addressing the challenges we face at our border.”

Of note, CBP’s operational report for July 2024 shows a significant decline in migrant encounters during the first full month after a Presidential Proclamation issued June 4, 2024, by President Biden to temporarily suspend the entry of certain noncitizens across the southern border. U.S. Border Patrol encounters in July were 32% lower than in June 2024 and were the lowest monthly total along the southwest border since September 2020. July’s total numbers between ports of entry are also lower than July 2019, and lower than the monthly average for all of 2019, the last comparable year prior to the pandemic.

Background on Heinrich’s leadership to support funding for food and shelter programs along the southern border:

In 2019, as part of a larger emergency border supplemental funding agreement, Heinrich spearheaded the bipartisan effort to secure funding to reimburse localities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for their humanitarian services by securing $30 million of funding in FEMA’s already existing Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP).This was a predecessor effort to theprogram now known as SSP.

In 2021, Heinrich and Luján secured $110 million for FEMA’s EFSP in the American Rescue Plan to provide economic support for localities and NGOs that provide humanitarian care to migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

In 2021, Heinrich, Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), Luján (D-N.M.) introduced the bipartisan Southern Border Communities Reimbursement Act of 2021, legislation to authorize funding through the EFSP to reimburse localities and NGOs that provide future humanitarian care to migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. This measure was included in the 2021 American Rescue Plan.

In 2022, Heinrich and Luján wrote a letter to the Chairs and Ranking Members of the Senate Committee on Appropriations and Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, calling for or $500 million in Fiscal Year 2023 Appropriations for the EFSP. 

The New Mexico Delegation successfully included $800 million in Fiscal Year 2023 Appropriations Bill for the SSP and secured $650 million for SSP in the Fiscal Year 2024 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill that passed earlier this year.

Background on Heinrich’s leadership on border security: 

Heinrich has long been committed to ensuring New Mexico has the tools and funding to better secure the U.S.-Mexico border.  

Recently, Heinrich and Vasquez visited the Santa Teresa Port of Entry and the New Mexico High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Program to discuss how $400 million they secured for new, state-of-the-art inspection technologies for CBP is helping law enforcement personnel crack down on fentanyl trafficking and strengthen border security. The funding, which Heinrich announced in March and helped secure as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, is helping CBP improve the detection and seizure of fentanyl and other narcotics. 

Heinrich also recently cosponsored two bipartisan bills, both led by U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), to strengthen border security at ports of entry. Read more about that legislation here.

In June, Heinrich welcomed President Biden’s executive order to strengthen border security, saying, “From our front row seat to the dysfunction at the border and in our immigration system, New Mexicans see the effects— on immigrants, border communities, and national security. We want action.”  

In May, Heinrich and U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.) led 15 of their colleagues in a letter to Senate Appropriatorsurging them to provide the United States with the tools to combat the fentanyl crisis by continuing robust funding for border security and drug interdiction initiatives. In their letter, the senators pushed for funding for CBP to hire additional agents and purchase more surveillance technology for official ports of entry along the southern border, where illicit drugs are being smuggled in and firearms and currency are being trafficked out of the U.S. to be used by Mexican cartels. The senators also requested more funding for U.S. law enforcement to investigate trafficking crimes and the transnational organizations perpetuating the fentanyl crisis in the United States.  

In April, Heinrich secured the passage of the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, which will give law enforcement the tools needed to crack down on drug traffickers and international criminal organizations. This new law will combat the flow of deadly fentanyl before it ever reaches our nation’s borders. It is one of the most significant actions Congress has taken to effectively address the fentanyl epidemic that’s killing New Mexicans and tearing families apart. 

In February, Heinrich led his Senate colleagues in a letter to President Joe Biden outlining the urgent need for robust funding for border security and drug interdiction efforts to stem the flow of fentanyl and similar illicit drugs being smuggled across the border through official ports of entry.

Heinrich has also worked for more than a decade to expand and invest in the Santa Teresa Port of Entry. During his tenure in Congress, he has successfully secured millions of federal dollars to invest in the road, rail, and air cargo infrastructure in this rapidly growing center of New Mexico’s trade economy.  

In May, in a letter to the General Services Administration (GSA) and U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Heinrich, U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), and U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) commended the completion of a feasibility study on the modernization and expansion of the Santa Teresa Land Port of Entry (STLPOE) in southern New Mexico and urged both agencies to make this project a top priority. This letter came after a push from Heinrich in March for the agencies to promptly complete the feasibility study Heinrich and Luján funded to expand and modernize the Santa Teresa Port of Entry (STLPOE).  

Find a more extensive last of Heinrich’s efforts to expand the infrastructure and capacity at the Santa Teresa Port of Entry here.