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Public disputes over how power is divided between the federal government and the states, including whether a state may regulate federal officers, agencies or programs.
Counts show individual statements. They do not assign an overall position.
2 statements on this page. Dates: October 6, 2026
2 matching statements. Dates: October 6, 2026
2 published statements. Dates: October 6, 2026
2 published statements. Dates: October 6, 2026
2 statements on this page. Dates: October 6, 2026
Role at the time: General counsel, New Mexico Office of the State Engineer
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”
Source New Mexico report on Office of the State Engineer general counsel Nat Chakeres's October 6, 2026, testimony to the legislature's interim Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee about the DHS waiver and the condition of the federal border wells.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)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.
Role at the time: General counsel, New Mexico Office of the State Engineer
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”
Report by Julia Gentin for The Las Cruces New Mexican, The Santa Fe New Mexican and Searchlight New Mexico on the waiver, the state's August 26 lawsuit and the October 6 committee hearing, with quotes from Nat Chakeres, Rep. Tara Lujan and Sen. Joseph Cervantes. It also summarizes the federal government's arguments for the waiver.
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.
