- IMMIGRATION DETENTION-NEW MEXICO
Officials reopen New Mexico private prison to hold migrantsESTANCIA, N.M. (AP) — Officials have decided to reopen a private prison in New Mexico to hold local inmates as well as immigrants being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Torrance County commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to open the detention center in the rural town of Estancia under an agreement with the federal agency.
The contract stipulates for ICE to pay the county nearly $2 million per month during the first year of prison use, allowing up to 714 immigrants to be housed.
The price will increase in subsequent years. Only adult men will be held in the facility.
Officials say the agreement will provide the county with 240 jobs.
Officials say the county will also sign agreement with private prison operator CoreCivic for it to run the facility and hire staff.
- ELECTION 2020-HOUSE-NEW MEXICO
Competition heats up in New Mexico congressional primarySANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Santa Fe-based attorney Teresa Leger Fernandez is launching her campaign for the Democratic nomination to an open congressional seat in 2020.
Leger Fernandez announced Thursday that she was kicking off her campaign in Las Vegas, New Mexico, where she graduated from high school.
A new campaign website describes Leger Fernandez as a mother of three and cancer survivor, who has worked on behalf of tribal communities as an attorney and serves on the board of a nonprofit affordable housing group.
The Democratic primary is likely to be decisive in the heavily Democratic 3rd Congressional District. At least six contenders are vying for the Democratic nomination to succeed U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján of Nambé as he runs for Senate.
Leger Fernandez is the daughter of former state Sen. Ray Leger.
- HISTORY MUSEUM-LEADERSHIP
New Mexico History Museum gets interim directorALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A career employee with the National Park Service has been named interim director of the New Mexico History Museum and Palace of the Governors.
State officials announced Billy Garrett's appointment Wednesday.
Garrett worked for the park service for 26 years, focusing on management of cultural resources, environmental design and community planning. His work involved Civil War battlefields, the Grand Canyon and other locations.
After retiring, he returned to New Mexico and served two terms as a Dona Ana County commissioner.
As interim director, he'll oversee the museum's daily operations along with development of exhibitions and public programs. The museum campus in Santa Fe also includes a historic press, photo archives and the Native American Artisans program.
The museum's board of regents will conduct a national search for a permanent director.
- LAS CRUCES-BISHOP
Pope Francis appoints Malta-born priest as Las Cruces bishop(Information from: Las Cruces Sun-News, http://www.lcsun-news.com)
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — Pope Francis has appointed a Malta-born priest as the new head of the Diocese of Las Cruces.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reports the Vatican announced this week Francis named Peter Baldacchino as Las Cruces bishop.
Baldacchino replaces Bishop Oscar Cantú who was reassigned as the coadjutor bishop of San Jose, California in September 2018.
Baldacchino was formerly the auxiliary bishop of Miami.
After ordination to the priesthood, he served for three years as parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Ridgewood, New Jersey.
His installation as the third Bishop of Las Cruces will take place on July 23.
The Las Cruces Diocese serves all of southern New Mexico.
___
- IMMIGRATION-CHILD'S DEATH
Migrant child dies in US custody; 4th since DecemberHOUSTON (AP) — A Guatemalan official says a 2½-year-old migrant child has died after crossing the border, becoming the fourth minor known to have died after being detained by the Border Patrol since December.
Tekandi Paniagua, the consul for Guatemala in Del Rio, Texas, said Wednesday that the boy had entered the United States with his mother at El Paso, Texas, in early April. Paniagua said the boy had a high fever and difficulty breathing, and authorities took him to a children's hospital where he was diagnosed with pneumonia.
The boy remained hospitalized for about a month before dying Tuesday. The Washington Post first reported his death.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the boy's mother told agents he was sick on April 6, three days after they were apprehended, and he was hospitalized that day.
Advocates have long questioned the Border Patrol's ability to care for the thousands of parents and children in its custody. The agency says it's overwhelmed by the surge of migrant families crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
- TRUMP-IMMIGRATION
Trump to deliver immigration speech ThursdayWASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will deliver an immigration speech on Thursday.
Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner has been working to finalize a plan that focuses on border security and changes to the legal immigration system. Kushner presented the plan to senators on the Hill Tuesday.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told reporters after the presentation that White House officials seemed "well on their way" to winning consensus for a plan that would unite Republicans on the contentious issue. But he added, "Whether it will or not, I don't know."
One Republican official briefed on Tuesday's meeting said Kushner provided few details.
Trump's speech Thursday hasn't been publicly announced, but a person familiar with the plans discussed them on condition of anonymity.
- FACEBOOK DATA CENTER
Facebook buys land in New Mexico but mum on purpose(Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Facebook has more than doubled its New Mexico footprint with the purchase of more than 400 acres near its new data center.
The Albuquerque Journal reports the social media giant confirmed this week that it purchased the land in March, adding to the 300 acres in Los Lunas, New Mexico, it already owns. But the Menlo Park, California-based Facebook declined to say what it plans to do with the property adjacent to its data center.
The recent purchase was disclosed last week in a joint letter from two state cabinet secretaries to the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission.
New Mexico does not publicly disclose property sale prices.
Facebook is constructing a six-building, $1 billion data center on the 300-acre parcel it purchased in 2016.
___
- ELECTION 2020-HOUSE-NEW MEXICO-THE LATEST
The Latest: New Mexico candidate warns against warSANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Congressional candidate and former CIA operative Valeria Plame says a war with Iran would be devastating for all involved and is warning of warmongering tendencies within the Trump administration.
In a broadcast interview with SiriusXM's The Press Pool with Julie Mason on Wednesday, Plame urged the Trump administration to use diplomatic tools to ease strained relations with Iran.
Tensions are sweeping the Persian Gulf region over unspecified threats that the Trump administration says are linked to Iran.
In a wide-ranging conversation about national security, Plame says the U.S. lost leverage in its relationship with Iran when the Trump administration withdrew a year ago from Iran's nuclear deal with world powers. Plame says U.S. national security adviser John Bolton "never saw a war that he didn't want to jump in."
Plame, who lives in Santa Fe, became a national figure after her identity as a CIA operative was leaked by an official in President George W. Bush's administration in an effort to discredit her then-husband, diplomat Joe Wilson. She is seeking the Democratic nomination in 2020 for an open congressional race in northern New Mexico.