NEW MEXICO’S MOONSHOT OF INVESTMENTS

In 2026, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez won a landmark legal battle against Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Torrez claimed Meta failed to safeguard children on its apps from sexual predators. A jury awarded the state $375 million. The second round of the legal battle is aimed at forcing Meta to install comprehensive safety measures which he hopes will be "blueprints" for the industry. These include age verification, safer algorithms, warning labels, and permanent bans for adults who facilitate child exploitation. (to be updated when the trial ends)

New Mexico’s Yes New Mexico (yes.nm.gov) website provides help in understanding and applying for food programs such as SNAP, the Emergency Food Assistance program, and the Women, Infants and Children program (WIC).  A new program, SUN Bucks, provides grocery benefits during the summer to families with school-aged children in New Mexico.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cited New Mexico’s response to a measles outbreak in 2025 as a model for other states to follow.   When measles infections in West Texas spread to New Mexico, our state’s Department of Health rolled out messaging in Spanish and English with vaccination information, a measles website, social media posts, and a phone line that received more than 2,000 calls. The state also sent out 60 mobile vaccination clinics to 11 counties at schools, public health offices, correctional facilities, and community centers. A professor of public health at New Mexico State University credited New Mexico’s “multiple strategies and multiple teams” for its effective response to measles.

New Mexico offers some of the most comprehensive LGBTQ+ protections in the country. State laws and city ordinances explicitly outlaw discrimination in employment, housing, credit, and public accommodations. In addition to state-wide Human Rights Act expansions, conversion therapy for minors is prohibited, and hate crime laws cover both sexual orientation and gender identity.  New Mexico was ranked #11 in the nation for LGBTQ-friendly policies by a national advocacy group.

Abortion and reproductive rights are explicitly protected under state law in New Mexico. In our state, women have the right to choose to carry a pregnancy to term, seek an abortion, or choose adoption. The state imposes virtually no legal limits on when during a pregnancy an abortion can be performed, establishing itself as a vital access haven for patients locally and across the U.S.

New Mexico was the first state to bar armed federal agents from polling places. Senate Bill 264 was signed into law and prohibits orders that put any armed person in the civil, military, or naval service of the U.S. at polling places, parking areas, or within 50 feet of a monitored ballot box. The law also allows for voters, election workers, and prosecutors to file civil lawsuits over intimidation or obstruction. Courts would be able to impose fines of up to $50,000 per violation.

In February 2026, New Mexico lawmakers established a bipartisan Epstein Truth Commission to investigate decades of alleged sexual abuse, trafficking, and criminal activity at Jeffrey Epstein’s former Zorro Ranch in Santa Fe County. The commission is tasked with uncovering why these crimes went unchecked by state authorities for over 25 years. Go here to see  how New Mexico protects our immigrant neighbors.