Former Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima has proposed a program to train nonviolent inmates in trades, aiming to build affordable housing, cut costs, reduce recidivism, and provide jobs with record expungement upon release. Miyagishima made this statement during a podcast appearance.
"I want to take nonviolent prisoners from medium-security facilities with about two years left on their sentences and teach them trades like plumbing, electrical, HVAC, welding, and construction through public-private partnerships with contractors," said Miyagishima, Former Mayor of Las Cruces. "This would provide low-cost labor to build affordable housing like triplexes, reducing home prices by 25% by minimizing material and labor costs, and upon release, they get jobs with record expungement if they stay employed for the length of their original sentence. This reduces recidivism, provides housing opportunities, and generates returns for the state investment council through mortgage interest, allowing us to recruit essential workers like police officers with zero-down-payment homes."
New Mexico is currently facing a severe housing shortage that complicates the reentry process for formerly incarcerated individuals. Stable housing remains a significant barrier to successful community reintegration. Debates are ongoing about utilizing inmate labor or public-private housing partnerships to expand affordable units. According to reporting by NM InDepth, the shortage of affordable housing is cited as a major factor inhibiting prisoner reentry.
A December 2024 legislative report indicates that New Mexico's three-year recidivism rate has climbed back to nearly 40%, significantly above the national average of approximately 27%. This highlights persistent challenges in reentry amid housing and employment instability.
Data show that New Mexico faces an acute affordable-housing gap, with fewer than 60 housing units available per 100 very-low-income renter households. Average development costs through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program are estimated at $326,589 per unit, underscoring how high building costs constrain supply.
Miyagishima served as Mayor of Las Cruces from 2007 to 2023. During his tenure, he focused on economic development, public safety initiatives, and affordable housing. He leveraged his background in real estate and community development to promote workforce housing and reentry-related policies.
