New Mexico Sanctuary Defense Committee.

Dates:

Active 1986

Active 1988

Biographical notes:

The New Mexico Sanctuary Defense Committee was formed in 1987 to provide for the legal defense of Lutheran minister and sanctuary movement activist Glen Remer-Thamert. The New Mexico Sanctuary Defense Committee was also organized to educate the American public about the sanctuary movement and U.S. immigration policies.

From the description of New Mexico Sanctuary Defense Committee collection, 1986-1988. (Santa Fe Public Library). WorldCat record id: 37653618

The New Mexico Sanctuary Defense Committee was formed in 1987 to provide for the legal defense of Lutheran minister and Sanctuary movement activist Glen Remer-Thamert, and to educate the American public about the Sanctuary movement and U.S. immigration policies. Remer-Thamert was indicted along with Demetria Martinez, free lance writer for the Albuquerque Journal, in U.S. district court of New Mexico on charges of violating U.S. immigration laws by assisting two pregnant Salvadoran women seeking refuge in the United States. Governor Toney Anaya on March 28, 1986 declared New Mexico as a Sanctuary state. The designation of a Sanctuary state was later rescinded by newly-elected Governor Carruthers on January 9, 1987. Governor Anayas proclamation was put to a legal test with U.S. vs. Remer-Thamert and Martinez . The trial focused both on the Sanctuary movement and First Amendment rights for reporters. This was the first time a reporter engaged in news gathering had been indicted in connection with Sanctuary activities. On August 2, 1988, the jury for the Sanctuary trial found the two defendants not guilty on all counts.

From the guide to the New Mexico Sanctuary Defense Committee Collection, 1986-1988, (New Mexico State Records Center and Archives)