At 18, I guarded the parking lot at the Catholic Church bingos. Now my dad made sure I could take care of myself. I carried a Smith and Wesson 357 Magnum .

New Mexico is an environment where we are open for business.

Despite what some would have us believe, success is not built on resentment and fear.

We talked about many issues, like welfare, is it the way of life or hand up? Talked about size of government, how much should it tax families and small businesses? And when we left that lunch, we got in the car and I looked over at Chuck and said, "I'll be damned. We're Republicans."

I went to law school. And I became a prosecutor. I took on a specialty that very few choose to pursue. I prosecuted child abuse and child homicide cases. Cases that were truly gut-wrenching. But standing up for those kids, being their voice for justice was the honor of a lifetime.

The criminal justice system should have the authority to determine the immigration status of all criminals, regardless of race or ethnicity, and report illegal immigrants who commit crimes to federal authorities.

I've known where my heritage is from all along.