Dona Ana County Silences Prayer: RPNM Chairwoman and NM FAM Responds to Commission's 4-1 Vote

NEW MEXICO - In a deeply troubling move, the Doña Ana County Commission voted 4–1 on Tuesday, July 22, to rescind a 2018 resolution that permitted prayer at the start of public meetings-effectively silencing an enduring expression of faith that has long been safeguarded by the U.S. Constitution and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Resolution 2018-25, adopted unanimously in 2018, honored the legal and historical precedent of opening government meetings with voluntary prayer. But this week, county commissioners reversed course, citing vague concerns about inclusion and neutrality. Their reasoning-void of any constitutional basis-suggests that voluntary prayer could be “exclusive” or “hostile,” yet no credible examples or legal justification were offered.

Amy Barela, Chair of the Republican Party of New Mexico, responded:
“Doña Ana County’s decision to eliminate public prayer is a blatant erosion of constitutional freedoms. This is not about neutrality-it’s about silencing faith. The First Amendment protects the free exercise of religion, not the forced absence of it.”

The Supreme Court has made it unequivocally clear-in Town of Greece v. Galloway (2014)-that non-coercive, voluntary prayer in public meetings is entirely constitutional, even if the prayers reflect particular religious traditions. To ban all prayer under the guise of “neutrality” is a misinterpretation of law and an affront to the foundational values of this nation.

The Republican Party of New Mexico stands firmly with theNew Mexico Family Action Movement (NM FAM) and the countless residents of Doña Ana County who cherish religious liberty.

Jodi Hendricks, Executive Director of NM FAM, stated:
“We are sincerely disappointed in the Commissioners’ decision to eliminate prayer from public meetings. This vote reflects a growing misunderstanding of both the Constitution and the role of faith in public life. The First Amendment was never meant to remove religious expression from civic spaces-it was meant to protect it.”

This decision reflects a troubling trend in America: removing moral and spiritual expression from public life in the name of false “progress.”

“Maybe if our government embraced more faith and values, we wouldn’t be seeing such an aggressive push to take away our rights,” said Barela. “Prayer isn’t coercion. No one is forced to participate, and everyone retains the right to abstain. But removing it altogether is an act of moral cowardice and cultural erosion.”

The Republican Party of New Mexico reaffirms its commitment to protect the religious and speech rights of all New Mexicans. The elimination of prayer is not neutrality-it is censorship. We call on all elected officials to respect the Constitution, honor faith in public life, and reject this growing hostility toward people of faith.