New Mexico
A deadly detour: Migrant deaths spike outside El Paso
SUNLAND PARK, N.M. — In each of the last two summers, Laura Mae Williams, who recovers bodies for the New Mexico Medical Investigator’s Office, has had to visit the U.S.-Mexico borderlands multiple times a week.
“It’s not uncommon for me to come down for one body that’s been found, and then Border Patrol finds another one or maybe even two additional ones in different locations,” Williams said.
It used to be rare for migrants to die after having crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in the desert just west of El Paso, Texas, over the state line. The Medical Investigator’s Office, part of the University of New Mexico Health System, used to recover only a handful of bodies a year. But this year so far, the office has recovered 121 such sets of remains, breaking last year’s record of 116. It’s more than a thirteenfold increase from five years ago.
Unlike the vast, remote deserts of Arizona, where migrants have died in significant numbers for years, the area experiencing this spike in deaths is relatively small, hemmed in by highways and the western exurbs of El Paso.
In many cases, people have died within a few yards of suburban subdivisions and paved roads.
Most of the deaths are heat-related. Although it is a relatively small stretch of desert, it routinely reaches temperatures well into the triple digits in summer, with sand temperatures at times reaching 150 degrees.
“In those extreme conditions, even if you’re well-hydrated and well-fed, it’s going to wear on the body,” Williams said. And in many cases, people who have migrated are not well-hydrated or well-fed, having spent days in smugglers’ safe houses in poor conditions.
First responders, elected officials and advocates in New Mexico attribute the spike in deaths largely to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, which hardened the border in El Paso’s urban core and prompted smugglers to attempt routes west of the city in New Mexico.
Abbott’s press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, blamed the deaths on the federal government. “Operation Lone Star helps deter illegal crossings, redirecting migrants to use one of the 29 international bridges on the Texas-Mexico border where they can safely and legally cross,” Mahaleris told NBC News in a statement.
The deaths fit a historical pattern. Migrants often begin dying in greater numbers after enforcement efforts push smuggling routes outside urban areas and into more remote and dangerous crossings.
Officials, including the New Mexico Medical Investigator’s Office, also blame smugglers for the deaths, noting that in many cases they abandon people who fall behind — but only after they take their phones.
“It raises an important question,” said Dr. Heather Jarrell, the chief medical examiner at the Medical Investigator’s Office, whose office marks the deaths as accidental. “If you leave a person in the middle of the desert to die, why is this not homicide by neglect?”
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A local business owner estimates he suffered about $1 million in damages as the result of yet another fire at a South Valley recycling plant.
Town Recycling on Broadway Blvd. SE has witnessed two fires in a span of less than two weeks with the first happening May 23rd and the second occurring Tuesday of this week.
Khalil Samaha, who owns Samcar, Inc. and Cedar’s Construction next door, says his businesses escaped without serious damage from the first fire, but the second one led to the loss of his main building, inventory he sells including trucks, construction equipment, computers, records, and much more.
“It’s a total mess. Everything is on the ground with water and insulation. It’s a total loss,” he said.
He gave KOB 4 a tour of his damaged property Wednesday and says that county officials have condemned the main office and won’t let him back inside.
“You can see all the glass is popped,” he said pointing to the windows. “I don’t know if the firefighters broke them or they exploded.”
A spokesperson for Bernalillo County Fire and Rescue issued a statement saying that, based on witness accounts, both fires may have started in a “bale of cardboard” at the recycling facility.
As of Wednesday evening, Broadway between Prosperity and Rio Bravo remained closed.
Samaha says firefighters attempted to battle the second fire from a different area than the first and the wind may have made conditions tougher.
“This time, the wind didn’t help,” he said. “So, it was blowing in my direction and took the building and some equipment in the back.”
Having seen two fires at the neighboring recycling facility in a span of about 11 days, he wonders if this will finally be the end of it.
“I hope it’s the last time. But, worried? Yes, we are worried,” he said. “We are close to them, and the materials are close to the fence. We share the fence together, so it’s always in the back of your mind.”
And now he lives with the memory of how quickly everything can change – just like it did earlier this week.
“It was very quick. From the smoke to the flame to the fire, it was very, very quick.”
A representative of Town Recycling declined our request for an interview.
LAS VEGAS, N.M. – New Mexico Highlands University President Niel Woolf has sued the school, claiming leaders pushed him to redirect a $600,000 contract to a chairman’s friend.
Woolf filed the lawsuit after the university placed him on administrative leave at the beginning of May.
He says Board of Regents Chair Frank Sanchez told him to cancel a $600,000 agreement with an out-of-state contractor and give it to a local contractor.
Woolf says that company is led by a friend of both Sanchez and his brother-in-law, Sen. Pete Campos, who represents Las Vegas.
In the lawsuit, Woolf says Sanchez told him directing the funds to his friend would “go a long way towards securing money for the University from Senator Campos,” said Woolf.
Woolf is seeking damages and attorney’s fees under the New Mexico Whistleblower Protection Act.
CHAMA, N.M. – The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad will begin its summer season on Tuesday, June 9, after the railroad delayed its opening due to drought and wildfire danger.
The season was initially set to begin on May 23. The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad Commission said it would conduct a review on June 2 to determine if it was safe enough to begin operations.
“A sincere thank you to all our passengers and the communities in Chama and Antonito who have been so patient as we waited for conditions to improve,” said Eric Mason, CEO of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. “We are excited to welcome guests back aboard and hear the opening whistle signal the start of another memorable season.”
The railroad will hold a Grand Opening Celebration on Saturday, June 13, in Chama. The celebration will coincide with Chama Western Heritage Days, a community festival that weekend with live music, vendors, and rodeo competitions.
The railroad recently won USA TODAY’S poll for the best scenic train ride in the country. In celebration of the win, the railroad said passengers who book by June 7 ca receive a 25% discount on coach tickets for trips through August. Guests must redeem the offer by calling the railroad at 888-286-2737 using promo code USATODAY#1.
Tickets are also available for the first Dark Sky Train departures on June 12 from Chama and June 13 from Antonito. The dark sky trains include evening excursions led by international dark sky guides, and take passengers to secluded spots with minimal light pollution.
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