ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A new poll conducted and published by the Albuquerque Journal shows that although two-thirds of New Mexico voters consider border security a serious issue, the majority of them oppose the construction of a border wall.

In addition to asking likely voters about their border wall approval, 67% said they support a path for citizenship for DACA beneficiaries.

“What we are finding is there’s a strong correlation between feelings about Donald Trump and attitudes toward the building of a border wall,” said Brian Sanderoff, president of Research & Polling Inc., which conducted the poll.

To be honest, for the majority of the people living in our state, the xenophobic agenda and views of the Trump administration on immigrants in our country, documented or not, has been very clear since the beginning.

As a border state, we are in the front lines of these racist attacks being imposed by the current administration, and live the reality day by day.

In Las Cruces, for example, border patrol can be seen roaming the streets of the city, inside and outside city limits, more than you see police cop patrolling. Here in Albuquerque, New Mexico Dream Team members helped recently released families that were inhumanely attacked under the zero-tolerance policy this summer find a place to sleep, eat, shower, and prepare them for the rest of their journey.

The 56% of New Mexicans that say the oppose the creation of a wall know that the wall represents so much more than just border security. They know that the wall epitomizes the hateful and racist rhetoric Trump and his administration have pushed since before he came into power.

The 67% of New Mexicans that started favoring a path to citizenship for immigrant youth understand the importance and potential that these young people have to make our state a leader in the nation once again, and not the state that places last in so many categories nationwide.  

Trump’s border wall also shows his priorities as far as immigrations goes. All this president seems to care for is building this wall that he promised supporters to further push his racist narrative against the immigrant community without considering the effects it could have on our state as a whole.

In the process, using immigrant youth as bargaining chips to push his demand for a border wall.

It comes to no surprise that the majority of New Mexicans oppose a wall that will not only further militarize our southern border but will also further opress our immigrant community in our state.