Friday, May 3, 2024
Fair, 85°Wind: 11.5 mph, W
Welcome to our new web site!
To give our readers a chance to experience all that our new website has to offer, we have made all content freely avaiable, through October 1, 2018.
During this time, print and digital subscribers will not need to log in to view our stories or e-editions.
U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., and U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Arizona, announced in a June 15 news conference in Washington, D.C. that they have created the Bipartisan Southwest Coalition.
Through the coalition, Vasquez said the two representatives will work together “on Issues that are important to the Southwest,” including border security, economic opportunity and the protection of public lands.
The two have “different political ideologies,” Vasquez said, but can work together to “represent the country that we love so much.”
“By leading this caucus jointly, we will be able to bring together our colleagues and other Southwest lawmakers to advocate for our districts and beautiful Southwest communities,” Vasquez said in a news release from his office.
Ciscomani said he and Vasquez will work together on Issues that “don’t abide by a political line or a state line.”
“When we work together, we strengthen our districts, our states, and our region,” Ciscomani said in Vasquez’s news release.
“Both members’ districts border Mexico, and New Mexico’s Second Congressional District has one of the longest borders along Mexico,” the news release said. “As native Spanish speakers who come from immigrant families, Vasquez and Ciscomani know the importance of a thoughtful, humane, and fair approach to immigration and border security, and both bring unique experiences and perspectives that are lacking in Congress’ discussions about the US-Mexico border.”
Vasquez and Ciscomani have already introduced bills together, Vasquez’s office said, including the Joint Task Force to Combat Opioid Trafficking Act, The Farm Workforce Support Act and the Wolf and Livestock Fairness Act.
Vasquez, 38, was born in El Paso and lives in Las Cruces. The former business editor of the Las Cruces Bulletin, Vasquez served on the Las Cruces City Council 2017-21 and was elected to Congress in 2022. The second district that Vasquez represents includes Las Cruces, southwest New Mexico and part of southeast New Mexico.
Ciscomani, 40, was born in Hermosillo, Mexico. He represents Arizona’s Sixth Congressional District, which includes southeast Arizona. Ciscomani was first elected to Congress in 2022.
