Throughout 2022, NMCLP worked in collaborative campaigns with community members and our partners to demand justice and make system-wide changes. A few highlights from the year include:

• Healthcare for All: NMCLP advocated with our partners and the NM Together for Healthcare coalition to shape the state’s design of a health coverage plan for working families and immigrants, and for a new statewide health insurance option for all New Mexicans through Medicaid. We also began representing patients in a class action lawsuit to challenge illegal debt collections against patients in violation of the Patients’ Debt Collection Protection Act.
• Transforming Public Education: We continued representing families in the landmark Yazzie/Martinez v. State of New Mexico education case by conducting extensive legal work to address ongoing violations of the court’s orders that require a sufficient and equitable education for Native students, English language learners, students with disabilities, and low-income students. We supported the efforts of the Tribal Education Alliance to advance policy solutions, including historic legislation ensuring Native language and culture educators are paid at the same as Level 1 licensed teachers. This litigation and advocacy resulted in new investments in teacher salaries, pre-K, and other initiatives, and we will continue to push for the comprehensive overhaul necessary to meet the rights of our students.
• Language Access and Food Justice: We won important court orders re-affirming the obligation of the NM Human Services Department, to provide language translation and interpretation services to families accessing benefits. Our team also raised awareness about systemic barriers to assistance programs, especially persistent delays in SNAP case processing.
• Childcare Assistance: We finalized agreements with the state to fix enrollment barriers and ensure proper administration of the Child Care Assistance program, so that thousands of families can access benefits.
• Income Security: We released a powerful video series with our partners featuring mothers speaking out about their experiences when trying to access the TANF cash assistance program. The engagement of families in advocacy has resulted in state officials considering reforms to modernize TANF.
• Predatory Lending: NMCLP provided expert analysis, education, and outreach about the importance of ending predatory lending. Our collaborative efforts helped lead to New Mexico passing historic legislation capping the interest rate for storefront loans at the national standard of 36% APR. This policy change will save families hundreds of millions in critical income.
• Fair Pay: NMCLP collaborated with workers’ organizations to improve the enforcement of New Mexico’s wage and hour laws and obtained important agreements by the NM Department of Workforce Solutions to improve the investigation of wage claims. We worked with community partners to improve the Chile Labor Incentive Program, so that agricultural workers received increased wages. We also raised awareness and advised workers about their right to access paid sick leave following the implementation of the new state law in July 2022.
• Housing: NMCLP pursued advocacy and litigation to enforce the rights of mobile home park residents, which are a large source of affordable housing in our state. We also successfully advocated with partnering community organizations to address frequently encountered barriers to the Emergency Rental Assistance Program during the pandemic.

NMCLP was selected by Albuquerque Business First for the 2022 Nonprofit Philanthropy
Award. We are honored to be working with our communities to advance transformational
changes in New Mexico.