New Mexico Democrats condemn deployment of federal agents after Trump announced they'll be sent to Albuquerque

• President Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr announced Wednesday that they are deploying 35 additional federal agents to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
• Trump said the deployment was necessary because local leaders are "too proud" or "too political" to ask for help fighting crime.
• The Democratic Party of New Mexico, however, says the deployment is "an unnecessary and dangerous step that is out of line with the needs and interests of our communities."
• The deployment comes as Trump's 2020 campaign is flooding New Mexico with ads falsely claiming that his rival, Joe Biden, would defund the police.

President Donald Trump's decision to send an additional 35 federal agents to Albuquerque is "unnecessary and dangerous," according to the Democratic Party of New Mexico.

On Wednesday, Trump and US Attorney General William Barr announced they were deploying the agents as part of Operation Legend, ostensibly an effort to combat violent crime. They were joined by Bernalillo County Sheriff Manny Gonzalez from New Mexico.

Trump, announcing the move, said it was necessary in liberal cities where local leaders want to "defund, defame, or abolish" police, as the Albuquerque Journal reported.

In a statement, Marg Elliston, chair of the state's Democratic Party, and Flora Lucero, chair of the Bernalillo County chapter, denounced the move as "out of line with the needs and interests of our communities."

"Recently, we've seen how the Trump administration is willing to use federal officers to brutalize and intimidate peaceful protesters in Portland, Oregon," they said. "This kind of violence and suppression has no place in our nation."

"President Trump is trying to win political points with a show of force that will only further inflame tensions in New Mexico," they added.

Trump's announcement comes as his 2020 reelection campaign is flooding New Mexico with television ads claiming that his rival, Joe Biden, would defund the police and increase the threat of violent crime. Trump lost the state by eight points in 2016.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, threatened to sue if what has been seen in the streets of Portland are seen in her state's largest city.

"If federal forces violate the rights of any New Mexican, if federal forces overstep their authority in any manner whatsoever, if there is any manner of clandestine authoritarian attempt to usurp local or state law enforcement operations in our state, the attorney general and I will not hesitate to litigate against the federal government and hold the Trump administration responsible to the fullest extent of the law," she said.

New Mexico Republicans, by contrast, welcomed the deployment.

"While the far-left is calling for the abolition of the police, President Trump is committed to keeping our communities safe," the party said on Twitter.

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