Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) on Wednesday declared a state of emergency in a New Mexico county riddled with violent crime and drug trafficking, two days after President Donald Trump activated the National Guard in Washington, D.C., and temporarily took over the local police department.
The emergency declaration applies to Rio Arriba County, the city of Española, and nearby pueblos, which are Native American villages. The county government requested the state’s help in response to an uptick in crime that has overwhelmed local resources, contributing to homelessness and fatal drug overdoses in the local community.
Grisham’s order authorizes up to $750,000 in emergency funding for New Mexico’s Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to address the crime surge in Rio Arriba, which is located in the northern part of the state, about 25 miles from Santa Fe.
“When our local leaders called for help to protect their communities, we responded immediately with decisive action,” Grisham said in a statement. “We are making every resource available to support our local partners on the ground and restore public safety and stability to these areas that have been hardest hit by this crisis.”
Grisham did not mention a deployment of the National Guard, although the executive order authorizing the emergency declaration permits it.
“The Adjutant General shall order into service any elements of the New Mexico National Guard as are or may be needed to provide military support to civil authorities as needed for this emergency,” the order states.
Wednesday’s action marks the second time this year that Grisham has declared a state of emergency in the state over crime rates. In April, Grisham deployed about 70 New Mexico National Guard members to Albuquerque at the request of the city’s police department to combat juvenile crime and fentanyl. The National Guard was used to secure perimeters around crime scenes and manage traffic control in order to free up local law enforcement’s resources.
The emergency funds granted to Rio Arriba are intended to help local law enforcement agencies with spending on overtime pay, equipment, and coordinated police response, according to a spokesperson for Grisham’s office.
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On Monday, Trump declared a crime emergency to wrest control of the Metropolitan Police Department in the district and deploy the National Guard and other federal agents. The administration’s takeover of the police has been met with resistance from Democratic lawmakers and local residents, although Mayor Muriel Bowser has so far been complying with the federal oversight. Over 100 people have been arrested in the district so far this week.
Trump has hinted he will send federal law enforcement to other blue, crime-ridden cities, naming Baltimore and Oakland as examples. While Trump did not name any city in New Mexico, Grisham appears to be getting ahead of the president with her own crime response.