Cities and counties across the country are recognizing that this public health emergency will only exacerbate the already significant consequences for families facing eviction. I'm asking you to consider what New Mexico can do to protect the health of our citizens and our community and to encourage you to take action, quickly.  There are 60 eviction cases pending in Metropolitan court on Tuesday, March 17.

People who are facing an eviction in this time of COVID-19 will have a difficult choice—if they are healthy, they are required to either risk a default judgment or risk exposure to a large number of people. If a tenant is sick on the day of an eviction trial, they will have to decide whether to stay home and risk getting a default judgment of eviction or to go to court and jeopardize their own health and risk exposing others in the hope of perhaps saving their housing. Neither of these situations is conducive to the public health goals of our state.

Closings of businesses and schools will have a particularly serious impact on low-income families in precarious housing situations—many New Mexico families are just one hiccup away from having to choose between paying rent or paying medical bills. The situation will become even more complicated and more challenging once folks are unable to get hours at workplaces that are shut down or have unplanned childcare expenses due to school closures. All indications are that we should expect to see more NM residents than ever facing eviction.

An order of eviction has a host of long-term legal consequences, but families are not actually evicted until the Sheriff comes to execute a Writ of Restitution—the Court order that allows the Sheriff to evict the tenant and restore possession to the landlord. If, as the Miami Police Department has done, the Sheriff's Offices throughout New Mexico halted enforcement, it would give some measure of relief to families and individuals in our state. 

Any relief for tenants in this moment, such as an eviction moratorium, would be likely to relieve the burden on our already over-extended health system and would give some breathing room to our most vulnerable residents during this unprecedented moment.