Amid campaign attacks on crime, gov. announces request for more FBI agents

Oct. 6—Amid the backdrop of a gubernatorial race where crime is a major campaign issue, Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Wednesday she asked U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland last month to support her request for more FBI agents to be assigned to New Mexico.

A spokeswoman for Lujan Grisham said the Governor's Office didn't make the request public sooner because it had hoped to announce "positive results" when the appeal for additional agents was first made to FBI Director Christopher Wray three months ago.

When that didn't happen, press secretary Nora Meyers Sackett wrote in an email, staffing shortages prevented the Governor's Office from issuing a "comprehensive" news release about Lujan Grisham's request until now.

Lujan Grisham's Republican rival, former longtime television meteorologist Mark Ronchetti, characterized the governor's announcement as a political stunt.

"This is a desperate attempt by the governor to distract attention away from her failed record on crime," Ryan Sabel, Ronchetti's communications director, wrote in a statement.

"The system is broken in New Mexico because she is a catch-and-release governor," he added. "She has appointed catch-and-release judges, appointed a 'when in doubt let 'em out' parole board and personally released hundreds of dangerous criminals from prison early, including a criminal who went on to commit a murder."

Lujan Grisham first made a request for "no less than 50 additional agents" to the FBI director June 15.

"At this time, New Mexico's law enforcement officers require the support and resources that only the federal government can provide," she wrote in a letter to Wray.

Her request fell on deaf ears.

"The only response we received was to inform us that the Bureau did not have the resources available to assign additional agents to New Mexico," Lujan Grisham wrote in last month's letter to Garland. "Given this response, I feel compelled to now write directly to you for assistance."

She wrote that Caroline Otto, assistant director of the FBI Resource Planning Office, reported to the state the number of full-time task force officers working on violent crimes in New Mexico had increased from four in 2017 to 29 today.

"While this is a good start, more must be done to target high level criminals and to continue to reduce crime in the southwestern United States," the governor wrote to Garland. "Indeed, since I wrote my June 21, 2022, letter, there have been at least forty-five homicides in our largest city, Albuquerque, and more than half of those remain unsolved."

Sackett said the Governor's Office "had hoped to announce positive results stemming" from the governor's initial request in June.

"When they unfortunately did not come we moved forward with the second letter to AG Garland, which we have announced," Sackett wrote. "We had some staff out of the office over the last few weeks, but this week we were able to put out a comprehensive release regarding the letters and we're glad to get it out to [the news media]."

The Governor's Office characterized Lujan Grisham's request as part of her "continued investments" in public safety.

"Gov. Lujan Grisham has invested more in public safety than any previous administration and secured additional federal crime-fighting resources in recent years," according to a news release, which lists several initiatives in a crime package the governor signed into law earlier this year.

"I believe that more agents, as well as greater visibility in the community, can help stem the flow of drugs and violence," she wrote in the letter to Garland. "I am confident that with this additional support our state can put this period of senseless violence behind us."

A "shortage of law enforcement officers," Lujan Grisham added, "presents a particular problem for New Mexico."

New Mexico is the fifth largest state geographically and has one of the highest poverty rates in the nation, she wrote. "Therefore, our resources to combat the national surge in violent crime are very limited."

The state's statistics underscore the importance of her request, Lujan Grisham wrote.

"Additional federal resources are needed to alleviate the current strain on New Mexico's law enforcement officers," she added. "Director Wray recently reported when the FBI initiated a surge of agents and resources to its office in Buffalo, New York there was a 50% decrease in homicides during deployment. Our State requires the same level of investigative, analytical, and technical resources that only your office can provide."

House GOP Whip Rod Montoya, R-Farmington, said Lujan Grisham was "all but admitting that she is incapable of managing one of her core duties" to keep New Mexicans safe by requesting federal help.

"Democrats in the Legislature and Gov. Lujan Grisham have done the exact opposite of keeping us safe from organized crime and violent criminals," he said. Montoya criticized Democratic policies that, he said, have reduced penalties for criminals and removed protections for law enforcement.

"You can't ignore crime and coddle criminals while simultaneously pretending to take the crime problem seriously," he said.

Follow Daniel J. Chacón on Twitter @danieljchacon.