What Trump’s Presidency Might Mean For New Mexico

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What Trump’s Presidency Might Mean For New Mexico (opinion)

It’s still a difficult concept for me to wrap my head around, but in just a few short days Donald J. Trump will be inaugurated into office and become the next President of the United States of America. That’s something I didn’t think I would see myself saying (writing?) for a myriad of reasons, but here we are. Some people see this fact as a tremendous upset, some as a beacon of hope and others see it as a sign of the end of the world. No matter the outlook, New Mexico was not a state which gave the majority of their vote to the President-elect.

I don’t typically like to discuss something as intricate and divisive as politics. It usually turns into a hurtful, regressive affair and I can flaunt my political beliefs to everyone around me until I’m blue in the face, but I’m not going to change anyone’s opinion on matters they’ve already taken their entire lifetime to make. However, Trump is a figure that people feel extremely passionate about and I think the subject of how his presidency will affect the state of New Mexico deserves some sort of discussion.

International trade with Mexico is a key component for many of our state’s imports and exports. In fact, half of the exports from New Mexico are shipped south of the border. However, Trump wishes to tax products from Mexico and rework fundamental policies from the North American Free Trade Agreement. This all goes back to his desire to “keep jobs” in America, but when our state makes such an important profit off of trading with Mexico, what will that mean for the estimated 16,500 people that are employed in export-related jobs in New Mexico?

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump holds up a sign he borrowed from a spectator during a rally Tuesday, March 1, 2016, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Another topic Trump is adamant about seeing through is the deportation of undocumented citizens. He plans to immediately send back millions over the border, especially those who have criminal records. The manner in which he intends to carry out the deportation is a process that is still unknown, however under the Obama administration, almost three million immigrants were deported from the United States. Some were even apparently rounded up in mass raids and taken right off the fields they were working on. In New Mexico, we have exports such as piñon nuts, pecans and most importantly, green chile and without the labor force the Mexican immigrants provide for farmers, their businesses may take a hit. Just the concept of having no green chile on my plate is enough to make my eyes swell, but if Trump truly wants so many out of the country so quickly, the way he goes about it may turn aggressive or violent which would only make this sensitive subject worse.

Protesters disrupt a rally held by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on May 24. Photo by Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

This is all, of course, excluding the multiple planned parenthood facilities that may be shut down, the halting of hiring new employees for federal jobs (which makes up about four percent of the state’s workforce population), passing the Middle Class Tax Relief and Simplification Act, using tax dollars to fund private and religious schools and so on. There are hundreds, if not thousands of important decisions that Trump will have to make over the course of his term and we can only hope that he has the country’s best interests at heart when he’s making those calls.

While some things may or may not work out for the better for the land of enchantment, these are all just hypotheticals. Some policies may go into effect, and some may have just been rhetoric that helped him get into office. Trump so consistently changes his promises and his stance on policies that it’s difficult to pinpoint what exactly will happen in the following four to eight years. The only thing we can do now is to wait and try to come to sort of understanding with each other. We need to be mindful of those who feel afraid, vulnerable and uncertain of the future and offer our support to them in these unpredictable times. In turn, we must have acceptance and love for those who helped get Trump into office. It has to go both ways if this whole world peace thing is going to work, because a good life for ourselves and the people we care for is a desire all of us share, whether we voted for the guy or not. Now let’s just hope he doesn’t build a wall in New Mexico by mistake or anything.

 

References: KOB / Taos News / NM Political Report/ Politifact / Washington Post