Teresa Leger Fernandez

Teresa Leger Fernandez
Born	Teresa Leger Fernandez
Birthplace	Las Vegas, New Mexico, United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	Template:Hlist
Known for	U.S. Representative for New Mexico's 3rd congressional district

Teresa Leger Fernandez is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. Representative for New Mexico's 3rd congressional district. A member of the Democratic Party, Leger Fernandez has represented the sprawling northern New Mexico district, which encompasses a large portion of the state including Santa Fe, Las Vegas, Farmington, and parts of Albuquerque. Before entering elected office, she built a career as a community development attorney focused on affordable housing, land grants, water rights, and voting rights in New Mexico's rural and Indigenous communities. Born and raised in Las Vegas, New Mexico, Leger Fernandez has drawn on her background as a Hispana from a small northern New Mexico community to shape her legislative priorities, which have included rural health care, public lands, infrastructure investment, and immigration policy. In Congress, she has been an outspoken advocate for federal resources directed toward New Mexico's rural communities and has taken public stances on issues including immigration enforcement, health care funding, and disaster recovery related to the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire.

Early Life

Teresa Leger Fernandez was born and raised in Las Vegas, New Mexico, a small city in San Miguel County in the northeastern part of the state. Las Vegas is a historically Hispanic community with deep roots in the Spanish colonial and Mexican periods of New Mexico's history. Leger Fernandez grew up in this community, which shaped her identity and later political career. She is of Hispano descent, part of the long-established Spanish-speaking population of northern New Mexico whose heritage predates the American acquisition of the territory.

Her upbringing in rural New Mexico exposed her to the challenges facing small communities in the American West, including issues related to land ownership, water access, economic development, and the preservation of cultural traditions. These experiences informed her later career as an attorney specializing in community development and her eventual entry into politics representing the communities she grew up in.

Education

Leger Fernandez attended Yale University for her undergraduate education and subsequently earned her Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School. Her legal education at Stanford prepared her for a career focused on community-oriented legal work, and she returned to New Mexico after completing her studies to practice law in the communities she sought to serve.

Career

Legal Career

Before entering politics, Teresa Leger Fernandez worked for decades as a community development attorney in New Mexico. Her legal practice focused on issues central to the lives of rural New Mexicans and Indigenous communities, including affordable housing, land grant rights, water rights, and voting rights. She worked with acequias (traditional community-operated irrigation systems), land grant communities, tribal nations, and nonprofit organizations throughout the state. Her legal work earned her recognition in New Mexico legal and community development circles and established her as a prominent figure in the state's public interest legal community.

U.S. House of Representatives

Leger Fernandez won election to represent New Mexico's 3rd congressional district, succeeding Ben Ray Luján, who left the seat to run successfully for the U.S. Senate. The 3rd district covers a vast geographic area encompassing much of northern and western New Mexico, including significant portions of tribal lands belonging to numerous Pueblo, Navajo, and Apache communities, as well as historically Hispanic communities and the state capital of Santa Fe.

In Congress, Leger Fernandez has focused on issues reflecting the needs of her district, including rural health care, public lands management, infrastructure development, water resources, and tribal sovereignty. She has served on several House committees relevant to these priorities.

Legislative Priorities and Federal Funding

Leger Fernandez has worked to secure federal funding for New Mexico through various legislative vehicles. In January 2026, she secured provisions in a federal funding bill that directed resources to New Mexico. At the same time, she voted against funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), reflecting her stance on immigration enforcement policy.

Her legislative work has also addressed the aftermath of the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire, a devastating wildfire in 2022 that was caused by a prescribed burn conducted by the United States Forest Service. The fire burned over 340,000 acres in northern New Mexico, destroying homes and livelihoods in the communities Leger Fernandez represents. She has worked alongside New Mexico's U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján to advocate for federal disaster relief and to monitor the operations of the FEMA claims office established to compensate victims of the fire. In February 2026, the three members of the New Mexico congressional delegation issued a joint statement regarding FEMA's announcement about changes to the Hermits Peak claims office leadership, reflecting ongoing congressional oversight of the federal government's response to the disaster.

Rural Health Care Advocacy

A central focus of Leger Fernandez's congressional work has been rural health care access. New Mexico's 3rd district includes many rural and frontier communities with limited access to health care services, and the congresswoman has championed policies aimed at sustaining and expanding health care infrastructure in these areas.

In March 2026, amid concerns about the impact of federal health care policy changes on funding for rural clinics, Leger Fernandez invited Carmen Pacheco-Muñoz, a leader of a rural health clinic in New Mexico, as one of her guests to the State of the Union address. Pacheco-Muñoz's invitation was intended to highlight the importance of federal support for community health centers that serve as a lifeline for rural populations.

Leger Fernandez also named Elizabeth Stein, identified as a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein's trafficking, as a guest to the same State of the Union address, drawing attention to issues of human trafficking and survivors' rights.

Immigration Policy

Leger Fernandez has been a vocal critic of certain federal immigration enforcement practices. In January 2026, she voted against ICE funding as part of a broader appropriations vote, a position consistent with her stated concerns about the impact of aggressive enforcement on immigrant communities.

In late January 2026, Leger Fernandez organized a candlelight vigil in Santa Fe alongside interfaith religious leaders to honor individuals who had died in ICE custody. The vigil, held on January 30, 2026, featured speeches from Presbyterian, Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, and Pueblo spiritual leaders. Leger Fernandez used the event to call for compassion in immigration policy and to advocate for peaceful protest against what she characterized as harmful enforcement practices.

The vigil reflected Leger Fernandez's broader approach to immigration issues, which has emphasized the human costs of enforcement policies and the importance of community solidarity with immigrant populations. Her district includes significant immigrant communities as well as historically Hispanic communities with deep roots in the region, and her positions on immigration have drawn both support and criticism from constituents and political observers.

Personal Life

Teresa Leger Fernandez resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She maintains strong ties to her hometown of Las Vegas, New Mexico, and to the broader communities of northern New Mexico. Her identity as a Hispana from a rural New Mexico community has been a defining feature of her public persona and political career, connecting her to the cultural heritage of the region's long-established Spanish-speaking population.

Recognition

Leger Fernandez's career as a community development attorney prior to entering Congress earned her recognition within New Mexico's legal and civic communities. Her election to Congress as a representative of New Mexico's 3rd district was itself a milestone, as she became one of relatively few Hispana women to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In Congress, she has gained attention for her advocacy on behalf of rural communities, tribal nations, and historically underserved populations in New Mexico. Her legislative work related to the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire response, rural health care funding, and immigration policy has been covered by regional and national media outlets.