The Dispute Index

Nat Chakeres

Nathaniel "Nat" Chakeres is a lawyer and the general counsel of the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer. He represents the agency in water-rights litigation, including interstate disputes over the Rio Grande, and briefs state lawmakers on water law and enforcement.

Also known as Nathaniel ChakeresWebsite (opens in a new tab)

What DI has documented

DI has documented statements by Nat Chakeres on Federalism and Immigration Policy. Read the quotations, original sources and related cases below.

Topics in this coverage

Statements by Nat Chakeres

Nat Chakeres

Role at the time: General counsel, New Mexico Office of the State Engineer

Condemned

Response to this claim

Wells drilled to supply border wall construction in New Mexico were improperly built and create a risk of contaminating the aquifer.

“That is bad. That is a direct conduit down into the aquifer. Anything can fall down in there”
Open source (opens in a new tab)State engineer denounces 'outrageous' federal waiver of New Mexico water laws to build border wall · Source New MexicoFull article
Why we used this label

The reference point is DHS's October 2 waiver of New Mexico water law and the federal use of wells drilled without state permits for border wall construction. Chakeres says an open border well is "a direct conduit down into the aquifer" and calls the construction appalling, so we labeled it Condemned. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional; it loses because he offers no defense of the wells or their use.

Read statementDHS waives New Mexico water law for border wall wells; state officials call the waiver unconstitutional

Nat Chakeres

Role at the time: General counsel, New Mexico Office of the State Engineer

Condemned

Response to this claim

The DHS waiver of New Mexico's water laws is unconstitutional because the state constitution makes New Mexico's water public property and the Tenth Amendment protects the state's authority to regulate it.

“The water of New Mexico is owned by the public for appropriation by private parties. That's in our constitution, and the federal government accepted that constitution when we became a state”
Open source (opens in a new tab)Trump administration says it's waiving New Mexico water law to keep using disputed wells for border wall · Searchlight New MexicoFull article
Why we used this label

The reference point is DHS's October 2 waiver of New Mexico water law and the federal use of wells drilled without state permits for border wall construction. Chakeres argues that the federal government "accepted that constitution" and, according to the report, calls the waiver unconstitutional, so we labeled it Condemned. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional; it loses because he describes no circumstance in which the waiver would be acceptable.

Read statementDHS waives New Mexico water law for border wall wells; state officials call the waiver unconstitutional

A participant is a subject of the case. A speaker has a statement documented in it. A commentator has an opinion or editorial documented in it.