NoSSN - State of New Mexico rejects US PATRIOT Law.

State of New Mexico rejects US PATRIOT Law.
March 18, 2003

<<Previous

Next>>

State of New Mexico rejects US PATRIOT Law. (#1) HJM40 passed by a 53-11

HJM40 passed by a 53-11 vote on Monday. For a much cleaner copy than

below please click on this link.

http://legis.state.nm.us/Sessions/03%20Regular/memorials/house/HJM040.html

HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 40

46th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2003 INTRODUCED BY

Max Coll A JOINT MEMORIAL AFFIRMING CIVIL RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES; DECLARING

OPPOSITION TO FEDERAL MEASURES THAT INFRINGE ON CIVIL LIBERTIES. WHEREAS,

the state of New Mexico is proud of its long and distinguished tradition

of protecting the civil rights and liberties of its residents; and

WHEREAS, New Mexico has a diverse population, including immigrants and

students, whose contributions to the community are vital to its economy,

culture and civic character; and WHEREAS, the preservation of civil rights

and liberties is essential to the well-being of a democratic society; and

WHEREAS, federal, state and local governments should protect the public

from terrorist attacks such as those that occurred on September 11, 2001

and should do so in a rational and deliberative fashion to ensure that a

new security measure will enhance public safety without impairing

constitutional rights or infringing on civil liberties; and WHEREAS,

government security measures that undermine fundamental rights do damage

to American institutions and values that the residents of New Mexico hold

dear; and WHEREAS, the house of representatives believes that there is no

inherent conflict between national security and the preservation of

liberty and that Americans can be both safe and free; and WHEREAS, federal

policies adopted since September 11, 2001, including provisions in Public

Law 107-56, known as the USA Patriot Act, and related executive orders,

regulations and actions threaten fundamental rights and liberties by: A.

authorizing the indefinite incarceration of non-citizens based on mere

suspicion and the indefinite incarceration of citizens designated by the

president as "enemy combatants" without access to counsel or meaningful

recourse to the federal courts; B. limiting the authority of federal

courts to curb law enforcement abuse of electronic surveillance in

anti-terrorism and ordinary criminal investigations; C. expanding the

authority of federal agents to conduct so-called "sneak and peek" or

"black bag" searches, in which the subject of the search warrant has not

been notified that his or her property has been searched; D. granting

federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies broad access to

personal, medical, financial, library and educational records with little,

if any, judicial oversight; E. chilling constitutionally protected speech

through overly broad definitions of "terrorism"; F. driving a wedge

between immigrant communities and the police that protect them by

encouraging involvement of state and local police in the enforcement of

federal immigration law; and G. permitting the federal bureau of

investigation to conduct surveillance of religious services, internet chat

rooms, political demonstrations and public meetings of any kind without

evidence that a crime has been or may be committed; and WHEREAS, these new

powers pose a particular threat to the civil rights and liberties of the

residents of New Mexico state who are or who are assumed to be Arab,

Muslim or of South Asian descent; and WHEREAS, other communities

throughout the country have enacted resolutions reaffirming support for

civil rights and civil liberties in the face of government policies that

threaten these values and have demanded accountability from law

enforcement agencies regarding their use of these new powers; NOW,

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO

that it: A. affirm its strong support for fundamental constitutional

rights and its opposition to federal measures that infringe on these

rights and liberties; B. affirm its strong support for the rights of

immigrants and oppose measures that single out individuals for legal

scrutiny or enforcement activity based on their country of origin; C.

direct the New Mexico state police to: (1) refrain from participating in

the enforcement of federal immigration laws; (2) seek adequate written

assurances from federal authorities that residents of the state of New

Mexico and individuals in the custody of the state who are placed in

federal custody will not be subjected to military or secret detention or

secret immigration proceedings without access to counsel and, absent such

written assurances, refrain from assisting federal authorities to obtain

custody of these individuals; (3) refrain from engaging in the

surveillance of individuals or groups of individuals based on their

participation in activities protected by the First Amendment to the United

States constitution, such as political advocacy or the practice of a

religion, without reasonable and particularized suspicion of criminal

conduct unrelated to the activity protected by the First Amendment to the

United States constitution; (4) refrain from using race, religion,

ethnicity or national origin as a factor in selecting who is subject to

investigatory activities unless race, religion, ethnicity or national

origin is part of the description of a specific suspect to be apprehended;

(5) refrain, whether acting alone or with federal law enforcement

officers, from collecting or maintaining information about the political,

religious or social views, associations or activities of any individual,

group, association, organization, corporation, business or partnership

unless such information directly relates to an investigation of criminal

activity and there are reasonable grounds to believe that the subject of

the information is or may be involved in criminal conduct; (6) provide

advance or simultaneous notice of the execution of a search warrant to any

resident of the state of New Mexico whose property is the subject of the

search and refrain from participating in a joint search with any law

enforcement agency absent assurances that such a notice will be provided;

(7) refrain from undertaking or participating in any initiative, such as

the terrorist information and prevention system, also known as TIPS, that

encourages members of the general public to spy on their neighbors,

colleagues or customers; (8) refrain from the practice of stopping drivers

or pedestrians for the purpose of scrutinizing their identification

documents without reasonable and particularized suspicion of criminal

activity; and (9) report to the legislature and the interim corrections

oversight and justice committee, any request by federal authorities that,

if granted, would cause agencies of the state to exercise powers or

cooperate in the exercise of powers in apparent violation of a city

ordinance or the laws or constitution of this state or of the United

States; D. direct public schools and institutions of higher education to

provide notice to individuals whose education records have been obtained

by law enforcement agents pursuant to Section 507 of the USA Patriot Act;

E. direct public libraries to post in a prominent place within the library

a notice as follows: "WARNING: Under Section 215 of the federal USA

Patriot Act (Public Law 107-56), records of books and other materials you

borrow from this library may be obtained by federal agents. This law also

prohibits librarians from informing you if records about you have been

obtained by federal agents. Questions about this policy should be directed

to Attorney General John Ashcroft, Department of Justice, Washington, DC

20530."; and F. direct the state official in charge of homeland security

for New Mexico to seek periodically from federal authorities the following

information in a form that facilitates an assessment of the effect of

federal anti-terrorism efforts on the residents of the state of New Mexico

and provide to the legislature and the interim corrections oversight and

justice committee, no less than once every six months, a summary of the

information obtained: (1) the names of all residents of New Mexico who

have been arrested or otherwise detained by federal authorities as a

result of terrorism investigations since September 11, 2001, and: (a) the

location of each detainee; (b) the circumstances that led to each

detention; (c) the charges, if any, lodged against each detainee; and (d)

the name of counsel, if any, representing each detainee; (2) the number of

search warrants that have been executed in New Mexico without notice to

the subject of the warrant pursuant to Section 213 of the USA Patriot Act;

(3) the extent of electronic surveillance carried out in the state

pursuant to powers granted in the USA Patriot Act; (4) the extent to which

federal authorities are monitoring political meetings, religious

gatherings or other activities within New Mexico that are protected by the

first Amendment of the United States constitution; (5) the number of times

education records have been obtained from public schools and institutions

of higher learning in New Mexico pursuant to Section 507 of the USA

Patriot Act; (6) the number of times library records have been obtained

from libraries in New Mexico pursuant to Section 215 of the USA Patriot

Act; and (7) the number of times records of books purchased by store

patrons have been obtained from bookstores in New Mexico pursuant to

Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies

of this memorial be transmitted to Senators Jeff Bingaman and Pete

Domenici and Representatives Tom Udall, Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce,

with a letter urging them to monitor federal anti-terrorism tactics and to

work to repeal provisions of the USA Patriot Act and other laws and

regulations that infringe on civil rights and liberties; and BE IT FURTHER

RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to President George

W. Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED

that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the state official in

charge of homeland security for New Mexico; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED

that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the New Mexico state police

and to all public schools, institutions of higher education and public

libraries within the state of New Mexico.

"The wages of the average American worker, after inflation and taxes, have decreased 17% since 1973, the only Western industrial nation to so
suffer." -- Martin Gross, author of "The Tax Racket: Government Extortion From A to Z"

DISCLAIMER: The data on this website is the collaborative experience, contributions, and research of various websites, legal books, tax documents, researchers, associates, attorneys, CPA's, etc. and does not constitute legal advice. The primary purpose of this site is education. We do not advocate any specific course of action. What you do with this information and any course of action you decide to take, if any, is entirely your responsibility.

]