MESILLA, N.M. (AP) The board of trustees of a small New Mexico border town has directed its marshal's department not to enforce federal immigration laws. The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that the Mesilla Board of Trustees adopted the resolution Monday after Spanish-speaking Dona Ana County residents told the board about their racial profiling fears. A nonprofit immigrant advocacy group, the Border Network for Human Rights, presented the resolution to trustees.
The move comes after the League of United Latin American Citizens filed a complaint last year alleging that Mesilla deputies had engaged in racial profiling. Earlier this year, a stop and arrest by a Mesilla deputy was ruled improper by a federal court.
Mesilla Marshal Tom Austin says his department does not become involved in issues involving a person's immigration status.
