“I am deeply concerned about President Trump’s executive orders, especially his attack on the 14th Amendment. Doing away with our constitutional rights impacts everyone not just immigrants. Sorry Mr. President, you cannot rewrite the American Constitution with a stroke of a pen … there are opportunities to work with Republicans on immigration like fighting cartels and stopping drugs from crossing the U.S. Mexican border … I think the president has said in the past that he’s going to target violent felons for deportation … And executive orders that he’s issued, it is just the opposite. Federal resources right now should be focused on those violent criminals and all other folks who should be targeted.” Reported in New Mexico Political Report, 1/27/25
BACKGROUND + EXPERIENCE
Rep Vasquez entered Congress in 2022 + won reelection in 2024. He is a first-generation American who grew up in the borderlands with his mother who worked hard to support the family. She showed him the value of hard work + the struggle to achieve the American Dream. Growing up, Vasquez lived on both sides of the border + spent much of his time in his grandfather’s TV repair shop in the Chaveña neighborhood of Ciudad Juarez. He saw firsthand the important cross-border connections + relationships that support families + businesses in New Mexico.
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​Prior to 2022, Vasquez served as executive director of the Las Cruces Hispano Chamber of Commerce, represented Sen. Martin Heinrich as his Southwest district representative, worked in public lands conservation + as a policy advocate promoting child welfare + family wellbeing at the federal level.
In 2017, Vasquez was elected to the Las Cruces City Council, defeating the chair of the local Tea Party with over 70% of the vote. In this role, he delivered millions of dollars in investment to create + improve parks, updated the district’s infrastructure, promoted policy that created thousands of jobs + helped craft a comprehensive development plan focused on lifting families out of poverty.
ON THE ISSUES
Rep. Vasquez is working to help working families by:​
• Seeking to develop an economy with high-quality jobs, address cost of living increases, + ensure accessible healthcare for all New Mexicans.
• Working to combat climate change + conserving public lands + natural resources to capitalize on the district’s growing outdoor recreation economy.
POLITICS IN NEW MEXICO
Rep. Vasquez had a 4.2% winning margin in 2024, defeating Yvette Herrell. He also defeated Herrell in 2022 by a slim margin of .70% -– 1300 votes – despite being outspent in what was then a Biden +6 district. Trump carried the district by 1.9% over Harris in 2024 making Rep. Vasquez one of 13 Democrats elected in a district carried by Trump. At this point, there is no confirmed Republican opponent for Rep. Vasquez.
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Democrats control both of New Mexico’s Senate seats + all three of the state’s seats in the House of Representatives. The current governor is Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham. She was re-elected in 2022 with 52.4%
of the vote. Both the State Senate + the State House are controlled by Democrats.
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The district serves the southern half of New Mexico, including Los Cruces, Roswell + the southern quarter of Albuquerque. It is the fifth largest district in the nation + is the largest that does not cover an entire state. The district’s residents are 55% Hispanic + 5.5% Native American. District 02 had historically been a Republican stronghold, but redistricting made it competitive following the 2020 census moving from Trump + 12 to Biden+6 given the changes made to district boundaries.