2-06-2025 6:33pm

NM State Rep. Sarah Silva Proposes Enhanced Judiciary Services In Chaparral

Chris Edwards Editor

In a news release from Rep. Sarah Silva she highlights her proposals and priorities for Chaparral New Mexico this legislative session.

After hearing from residents and talking with local and state officials, Rep. Sarah Silva, D-Las Cruces, is working to improve services in Chaparral, the largest unincorporated community in New Mexico according to a release.

Rep. Silva is helping Otero County find funding for a $10 million public safety facility that would provide much needed services to Chaparral. It would include facilities for the sheriff’s department, fire and EMS that includes an ambulance bay, animal control and road maintenance. These services either don’t currently exist in Chaparral, are understaffed or need additional facility space.

Rep. Silva plans to earmark a great deal of her own capital outlay for this project. She has requested that her colleagues in the Legislature and the governor help fully fund phase one of the project, at a cost of $5 million, in the current session.

Chaparral has grown exponentially across Doña Ana and Otero counties in recent decades with no cohesive government. It’s officially home to about 16,000 residents, but county officials say the population is closer to 26,000. Chaparral sits on the state line north of El Paso and is on track to be bigger than Alamogordo within a decade.

“I have spoken with residents who have had family members die or become disabled because the nearest ambulance was an hour away. Some Otero County sheriff’s deputies have transported the injured to hospitals in El Paso themselves, taking on immense liability in the process,” Rep. Silva wrote in a recent column about the public safety facility

“Residents speak about feeling unsafe because there aren’t enough deputies. The threat of cartel violence is ever-present because of Chaparral’s isolation and proximity to the border.”

“Dogs run rampant,” she wrote. “I was bitten by one while campaigning on Election Day. Residents, including children getting off school buses, face this danger daily.”

Rep. Silva has also introduced House Bill 144, which would allow the Otero County Magistrate Court to set up shop in Chaparral. That’s necessary because folks currently have to travel more than 70 miles and through a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint to resolve issues like traffic citations.
And she’s introduced House Bill 188, which would allow the Doña Ana County Magistrate Court to also set up shop in its part of Chaparral. House Bill 188 would also allow the creation of a satellite court in Sunland Park, which like Chaparral is a large and growing community.

“We must have courts in Chaparral,” Rep. Silva said. “Especially on the Otero County side, there are currently too many barriers to resolving simple legal matters, and too many folks end up with bench warrants. The lack of infrastructure leads to further criminalization of our people.”

Finally, Rep. Silva is also requesting $100,000 to conduct an economic and legal study to help residents of Chaparral determine their future. Among the options local residents and county officials have discussed are incorporation or creating a new county. Chaparral’s situation is complicated by the county line that cuts the community in half.

“Residents can’t currently vote to incorporate the entire community because it’s in two counties,” Rep. Silva said, “so we need a strong legal analysis, in addition to an economic study, to help residents thoughtfully consider their future.”

Determining a path forward is essential: in addition to Chaparral’s rapid growth, the cannabis industry is flourishing because of the community’s proximity to El Paso, Texas. Because Chaparral is not a city, most of the revenue brought in goes to the state instead of the local community.

“Chaparral faces many challenges,” Rep. Silva said. “The public safety facility, court expansions, and economic and legal study are important steps forward on issues that have been neglected for too long. No more.”

House Bill 144: https://www.nmlegis.gov/Legislation/Legislation?chamber=H&legType=B&legNo=144&year=25
House Bill 188: https://www.nmlegis.gov/Legislation/Legislation?chamber=H&legType=B&legNo=188&year=25