New Mexico village seeks prayers as deadly wildfire rages - By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
With towering pine trees and cool mountain breezes, a pocket of southern New Mexico draws thousands of tourists and horse racing fans every summer. It's also a community that knows how devastating wildfires can be.
It was a decade ago that fire ripped through part of the village of Ruidoso, putting the vacation spot on the map with the most destructive wildfire in New Mexico's recorded history when more than 240 homes burned and nearly 70 square miles of forest were blackened by a lightning-sparked blaze.
Now, Mayor Lynn Crawford is rallying heartbroken residents once again as firefighters on Friday tried to keep wind-whipped flames from making another run at the village and the hundreds of homes and summer cabins that dot the surrounding mountainsides.
More than 200 homes already have burned, and an elderly couple was found dead this week outside their charred residence. Close to 5,000 people remain evacuated.
Crawford said the village is overflowing with donations from surrounding communities.
"So we have plenty of food, we have plenty of clothes, those kinds of things but we still appreciate and need your prayers and your thoughts," the mayor said during a briefing. "Again, our hearts go out to the family of the deceased, to those that have lost their homes."
Authorities have yet to release the names of the couple who died. Their bodies were found after worried family members contacted police, saying the couple had planned to evacuate Tuesday when the fire exploded but were unaccounted for later that day.
Near where the bodies were recovered, in Gavilan Canyon, the fire reduced homes to ash and metal. An 18-home RV park was completely destroyed.
"I had like 10 people displaced, they lost their homes and everything, including my mom," said Douglas Siddens, who managed the park.
Siddens said his mother was at work when the fire broke out "with just the clothes she had on and that's all she has left."
Everyone got out of the RV park safely before the flames hit but "it's completely leveled. Like, all that's left are metal frame rails and steel wheels," Siddens said.
While many older residents call Ruidoso home year round, the population of about 8,000 people expands to about 25,000 during the summer months as Texans and New Mexicans from hotter climates come seeking respite. Horse races at the Ruidoso Downs also draw crowds, as it's home to one of the sport's richest quarter-horse competitions. The racing season was expected to start May 27, and horses that board there aren't in any danger as fire officials use the facility as a staging ground.
Part-time residents have taken to social media over the last few days, pleading with fire officials for updates on certain neighborhoods, hoping their family cabins weren't among those damaged or destroyed.
Authorities said Friday evacuations remain in place and that it was too early to start letting people in to see the damage. They asked for patience as fire crews continued to put out hot spots in the burned neighborhoods and tried to build a stronger perimeter around the blaze.
Incident commander Dave Bales said crews were bracing for stronger winds Friday after having a successful day on Thursday. Helicopters were making water drops, and more engines and firefighters were arriving from elsewhere in the West to help with the effort.
New Mexico authorities said they suspect the fire, which has torched more than 9.5 square miles of forest and grass, was sparked by a downed power line and the investigation continued Friday. Crews also were dealing with toppled trees and downed power lines from the winds that battered the area earlier in the week.
Elsewhere in the U.S., large fires were reported this week in Texas, Colorado and Oklahoma.
Hotter and drier weather coupled with decades of fire suppression have contributed to an increase in the number of acres burned by wildfires, fire scientists say. The problem is exacerbated by a more than 20-year Western megadrought that studies link to human-caused climate change.
The National Interagency Fire Center reported Thursday that since the start of the year, 18,550 wildfires have burned about 1,250 square miles. That's well above the 10-year U.S. average of 12,290 wildfires and 835 square miles burned for the same period.
New Mexico adopts stiffer pollution rules for oil and gas - By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
New Mexico regulators have approved more rules aimed at cracking down on pollution from the oil and natural gas industry amid the national debate over domestic production and concerns about global energy market instability.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's administration on Thursday praised the rules, calling them among the toughest in the nation.
"This is a momentous step forward in achieving our goals of lowering emissions and improving air quality. New Mexicans can be proud of the fact that we are leading the nation by implementing rules that protect our families and their environment," said Lujan Grisham, who is running for reelection.
The Democrat has pushed for more regulations throughout her first term and the rules approved this week by the state Environmental Improvement Board mark the second part of her plan for tackling pollution blamed for exacerbating climate change.
High fuel prices are hurting household finances as the New Mexico state government benefits from a financial windfall linked to record-setting oil production in the Permian Basin. New Mexico last year surpassed North Dakota to become the No. 2 oil producing U.S. state behind Texas.
State oil and gas regulators adopted separate rules earlier this year to limit venting and flaring at petroleum production sites to reduce methane pollution.
This latest effort, led by the state Environment Department, focuses on oilfield equipment that emits smog-causing pollution, specifically volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides.
It includes minimum requirements for oil and natural gas producers to calculate their emissions and have them certificated by engineers and to find and fix leaks on a regular basis. The rule would apply to compressors, turbines, heaters and other pneumatic devices used at the production sites.
The New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, which represents producers, expects the new rules will reduce emissions. But industry officials said New Mexico oil and gas production is responsible for only a small amount of the state's ozone pollution.
Ozone pollutants also can also be found in wildfire smoke and vehicle emissions. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering classifying some of the largest cities in the nation as "severe" ozone pollution violators.
The Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico criticized the rules, saying the state opted to remove a more flexible regulatory framework for low-volume producers after being pressured by environmental groups. The industry group said Friday that the rules will lead to premature plugging of still-productive wells.
"The combination of these new federal and state oil and gas restrictions will continue to punish New Mexicans at the gas pump, undermine our domestic security, increase our dependency on foreign adversaries at a time when we should be increasing domestic production," Jim Winchester, the association's executive director, said in a statement.
New Mexico lawmakers in a recent special session approved tax rebates to offset increased prices for fuel and other consumer goods.
Ruling rejects challenge to habitat designation for mouse - Associated Press
An appeals court on Friday uphold a lower court's rejection of two ranching groups' challenge to a federal agency's designation of certain riparian areas of Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico as critical habitat of a mouse species.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2016 designated nearly 22 square miles in the three states as critical habitat of the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse.
The decision by a three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a U.S. District Court judge correctly rejected the challenge by two New Mexico ranching groups, the Northern New Mexico Stockman's Association and the Otero County Cattleman's Association.
Livestock grazing can damage mouse habitat, and its protected status has prompted federal managers in some areas to restrict access to streams and wetlands.
The appeals court said the Fish and Wildlife Service complied with legal requirements for assessing economic impacts of critical habitat designation, adequately considered the effects on ranchers' water rights and "reasonably supported its decision not to exclude certain areas from the critical habitat designation."
Biden increases crude oil royalty rate, scales back leases - By Matthew Brown Associated Press
The Biden administration is sharply raising rates for royalties companies pay on oil and natural gas extracted from federal lands as it moves forward under court order with sales of public fossil fuel reserves in nine states, Interior Department officials said Friday.
The announcement comes as Republicans pressure President Joe Biden to expand U.S. crude production and rein in higher gasoline prices contributing to record inflation. Biden also faces calls from within his own party to do more to curb emissions from fossil fuels that are driving climate change.
The royalty rate for new leases will increase to 18.75%, from the current 12.5%. That's a 50% percent jump and marks the first increase to royalties for the government in decades.
Leases for 225 square miles (580 square kilometers) of federal lands primarily in the West will be offered for sale in a notice to be posted on Monday, officials said. That's about 30 % less land than officials had earlier proposed for sale in November and less than what was originally nominated by the industry.
The sales notices will cover leasing decisions in nine states — Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Montana, Alabama, Nevada, North Dakota and Oklahoma.
Interior Department officials declined to specify which states would have parcels for sale or to give a breakdown of the amount of land by state, saying that information would be included in Monday's sales notice.
Burning fossil fuels extracted from public lands accounts for about 20% of energy-related U.S. emissions, making them a prime target for climate activists who want to shut down leasing.
Republicans want more drilling, saying it would increase U.S. energy independence and help bring down the cost of crude. But oil companies have been hesitant to expand drilling because of uncertainty over how long high prices will continue.
The onshore lease sales will be the first by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management since Biden suspended them just a week after taking office in January 2021, as part of his plan to address climate change.
The administration was ordered last year to resume the sales by a federal judge in Louisiana, who said Interior officials offered no "rational explanation" for canceling them.
Hundreds of parcels of public land that companies nominated for leasing had been previously dropped from the upcoming lease sale because of concerns about wildlife being harmed by drilling rigs.
Texas repeals immigration order that caused border gridlock - By Paul J. Weber Associated Press
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday repealed his traffic-clogging immigration order that backed up commercial trucks at the U.S.-Mexico border, after a week of intensifying backlash and fears of deepening economic losses.
The Republican governor dropped his new rules that had required all commercial trucks from Mexico to undergo extra inspections to curb the flow of migrants and drugs and ratcheted up a fight with the Biden administration over immigration policy.
Some truckers reported waiting more than 30 hours to cross. Others blocked one of the world's busiest trade bridges in protest.
Abbott, who is up for reelection in November and has made the border his top issue, fully lifted the inspections after reaching agreements with neighboring Mexican states that he says outline new commitments to border security. The last one was signed Friday with the governor of Tamaulipas, who this week said the inspections were overzealous and created havoc.
When Abbott first ordered the inspections, he did not say lifting them was conditional on such arrangements with Mexico.
Pressure was building on Abbott to retreat as gridlock on the border worsened and frustration mounted. The American Trucking Association called the inspections "wholly flawed, redundant and adding considerable weight on an already strained supply chain."
The U.S.-Mexico border is crucial to the U.S. economy and more of it is in Texas — roughly 1,200 miles — than any other state. The United States last year imported $390.7 billion worth of goods from Mexico, second only to China.
Abbott began the inspections after the Biden administration said pandemic-related restrictions on claiming asylum at the border would be lifted May 23. He called the inspections a "zero tolerance policy for unsafe vehicles" smuggling migrants. He said Texas would take several steps in response to the end of the asylum restrictions, which is expected to lead to an increase in migrants coming to the border.
State troopers inspected more than 6,000 commercial vehicles over the past week, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Nearly one in four trucks were pulled off the road for what the agency described as serious violations that included defective tires and brakes.
The agency made no mention of the inspections turning up migrants or drugs.
Abbott has also chartered buses to Washington, D.C., for migrants who wanted to go. The first drop-offs happened Wednesday, drawing criticism from the Biden administration. On Thursday, U.S. Customs and Border Protections Commissioner Chris Magnus said Texas was moving migrants without "adequately coordinating" with the federal government.
Navajo same-sex marriage bill voted down at first of several hearings - Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
A Navajo Nation committee voted Wednesday against legislation that would permit same-sex marriages, though the bill is far from dead.
The Navajo Nation, the largest reservation within the United States, banned same-sex marriage as part of the Diné Marriage Act in 2005. As a result, same-sex couples cannot get married on the Nation, and Navajo government doesn’t recognize their marriages if they’re granted elsewhere.
That means same-sex couples don’t have the same rights on the Nation for things like shared health insurance, hospital visitation, life insurance, adoption and foster care, and other necessities of shared life. About 173,000 people live on the Navajo Nation, making it one of the last, biggest regions inside the U.S. where same-sex couples cannot marry.
Navajo Council Delegate Eugene Tso sponsored a bill in late March that would repeal or alter sex- or gender-specific language from the Marriage Act, which specifically prohibits marriage by members of the same sex in a section that also bans incest and polygamy.
The Navajo Nation Council’s Health, Education and Human Services Committee on Wednesday devoted about an hour and a half to the measure, during which delegates switched between Navajo and English to discuss their support or opposition to the law.
Ultimately, the committee voted 3-2 against legalizing same-sex marriage, though it will be heard in the coming weeks by other committees, including the Budget and Finance Committee and the Law and Order Committee, before the full Council. A delegate predicted it won’t near passage or failure until sometime in May.
Nathaniel Brown, a delegate and an advocate for the LGBTQ community, said upholding the ban fuels a stigma on the Nation that he’s seen often result in tragedy, like youth suicide or bullying. And he said it’s preventing many couples from returning to the Nation to build a life for themselves and future generations.
“We also had a really bright young gentleman who left the Department of Justice as an attorney, because the Navajo Nation does not recognize same-sex couples, and the medical insurance and other insurance,” Brown said. “‘Why am I working here if I am being discriminated against?’”
Brown, moved to tears, also said anti-LGBTQ attitudes and laws might be contributing to another scourge — missing and murdered indigenous women and relatives.
“It’s those individuals that feel like they are disposable. They don’t feel k’e,” he said, using the Navajo word for kinship. “And they leave us.”
Three delegates spoke in opposition to the measure and later voted against it.
Delegate Edison Wauneka cited religious objections and said that same-sex couples should just get licenses outside the Navajo Nation, even though they aren’t recognized as married the moment they step onto tribal land.
“We don’t have the authority to address what the Heavenly Father said,” he said.
Opponents also said it shouldn’t be up to the Council and instead be put to tribal members in a referendum. But the Council passed the original 2005 bill banning same-sex marriage without relying on a referendum, Delegate Carl Slater pointed out to Source New Mexico.
Public comments submitted ahead of the hearing were in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage but not by a wide margin. About 90 people wrote in with their comments between March 22 and 27, and several area church leaders have circulated petitions during services. In addition to the petitions, a group of Navajo Nation Christian churches recently paid for a full-page advertisement in the Gallup Independent opposing the measure and citing Biblical teachings as why.
Of the public comments, 49 were in favor of recognizing same-sex marriages. Thirty-six were opposed.
Jennifer Nez Denetdale spoke to the committee at the request of Tso, the bill’s sponsor. She’s a member of the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission and an American Studies professor at the University of New Mexico.
In her work as a historian and researcher, she said, she looked into traditional gender expression and roles on the Navajo Nation, including the recognition of two-spirit people who embody masculine and feminine traits, known as Nádleehí.
“The forces of colonialism, including in American education, introduction of Christianity, and the civilizing program through the federal government has led to this loss of our memory that at one time, depending on who you talk to, we recognized three to five genders,” she told the committee.
That Christian colonialist impact on recent generations can be seen, Nez Denetdale said, in where many LGTBQ youth seek solace if they grow up in an unwelcoming household.
“Stories shared by our LGBTQ2S (two-spirit) relatives indicate that in a world where they are treated with discrimination and hate, their grandparents are often refuges,” she said. “Grandparents love their grandchildren, regardless of their gender identity.”
Delegates Slater and Charlaine Tso voted in favor of the measure. Delegates Wauneka, Halona and Paul Begay, Jr., voted against it.
2 dead, more than 200 homes charred in New Mexico wildfire - By Susan Montoya Bryan And Paul Davenport Associated Press
Firefighters took advantage of a brief break in the weather but gusty winds were expected to return Friday to southern New Mexico where a wildfire has claimed two lives and charred more than 200 homes.
The fire has forced the evacuation of about 5,000 people in the mountain community of Ruidoso, where the remains of a couple were found near a burned home as they tried to flee.
New Mexico State Police confirmed the blaze killed the two people after it started Tuesday from a windblown, downed power line. Their names have not been released.
Thousands of customers in the area remain without power, and Ruidoso schools have been closed until next week.
"We've had students who've lost their homes. We have to support them on Tuesday" when school resumes, said high school English teacher Sara Ames Brown. She said Thursday she was with students when they were evacuated by bus, with flames visible in the forest outside as they drove away.
Fire crews used a break in what had been a steady stream of relentless gusts to make headway against the flames on Thursday.
Incident Commander Dave Bales said the strategy was "attack while we can," noting that winds were expected to pick up again Friday.
"We're trying to keep this fire as small as possible, especially because it's right in the community," he said. "We've had a loss of a lot of structures so our crews are right there on the fire front going as direct as possible."
The fire moved into a more densely populated area on Ruidoso's northeastern side Wednesday afternoon, prompting more evacuations. Laura Rabon, a spokesperson for the Lincoln National Forest, interrupted a fire briefing and told people to get in their cars and leave after the flames jumped a road where crews were trying to hold the line.
Crews kept the flames from pushing further into the village on Wednesday, and Rabon said that progress continued Thursday as helicopters dropped water and ground crews secured lines on the east and south sides. They also put out hot spots in the neighborhoods where the flames raced through earlier this week.
The fire has torched an estimated 9 square miles of forest and grass, and the strong winds that battered the area have left behind toppled trees and down power lines. Due to the power outage, the school district's servers were down and email wasn't working.
Six new large fires were reported Wednesday: three in Texas, two in Colorado and one in Oklahoma. In all, wildland firefighters and support personnel were trying to contain 11 large fires that have charred more than 40 square miles in five states.
The National Interagency Fire Center reported Thursday that since the start of the year, 18,550 wildfires have burned about 1,250 square miles. That's well above the 10-year average of 12,290 wildfires and 835 square miles burned.
Hotter and drier weather coupled with decades of fire suppression have contributed to an increase in the number of acres burned by wildfires, fire scientists say. The problem is exacerbated by a more than 20-year Western megadrought that studies link to human-caused climate change.
Elsewhere in New Mexico, wildfires were burning northwest of Ruidoso, along the Rio Grande south of Albuquerque, in mountains northwest of the community of Las Vegas and in grasslands along the Pecos River near the town of Roswell.
Albuquerque begins rolling out anti-speeding cameras – Albuquerque Journal, KUNM News
Albuquerque has installed the first set of anti-speeding cameras across the city in hopes of slowing drivers down with traffic fatalities on the rise.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that the initiative was announced at a news conference yesterday. Speeders caught by the cameras can either pay a $100 dollar fine or serve four hours of community service within 3 months of getting the ticket.
The first three cameras are posted on Montgomery and Gibson Boulevards, which the city identified as particularly dangerous roadways. Warnings will start to be sent out on April 25 and actual tickets will begin a month later. The program will eventually expand to a total of 10 cameras city-wide.
Mayor Tim Keller said he was putting drivers “on notice,” and that something needed to be done about the city’s pedestrian fatality rates.
He emphasized that the cameras are focused on curbing excessive speeding that can cause crashes and deaths, and that drivers going just a little over the speed limit won’t be cited.
The mayor said the program was designed to avoid issues encountered with the city’s former red-light camera program by including a community service option to pay the tickets off and amending the review and appeal process.
Additionally, the tickets, which will come in the mail, will not appear on a driver’s record.
Expanding drought leaves western US scrambling for water - By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
Tumbleweeds drift along the Rio Grande as sand bars within its banks widen. Smoke from distant wildfires and dust kicked up by intense spring winds fill the valley, exacerbating the feeling of distress that is beginning to weigh on residents.
One of North America's longest rivers, the Rio Grande is another example of a waterway in the western U.S. that's tapped out.
From the Pacific Northwest to the Colorado River Basin, irrigation districts already are warning farmers to expect less this year despite growing demands fueled by ever-drying conditions. Climate experts say March marked the third straight month of below-average precipitation across the U.S. and areas of record dryness are expanding in the West.
On Thursday, federal water managers shared their annual operating plan for the Rio Grande, a major water source for millions of people and thousands of square miles of farmland in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Mexico. They believe they can keep the river flowing, but it will depend on the weather.
Ed Kandl, a hydrologist with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, said warmer temperatures will affect supplies, but relief could come if summer monsoons develop. "We'll just have to see what happens," he said.
Mark Garcia, who farms about 400 acres with his family in Valencia County, just south of Albuquerque, ran the numbers. He has a degree in mathematics and taught calculus for years before retiring and turning to the farm full time.
He found his family would be compensated for not irrigating about half of its acreage this year, and more water would be left in the river to help New Mexico work off a debt that has been growing as the state falls short of its obligations to deliver water to neighboring Texas.
"Logically, it was almost like a no-brainer," Garcia said of opting into the fallowing program. "The risk analysis was, I had to take it, I had to do it. I didn't want to, though."
Sitting in his backhoe in one of his fields, Garcia began to get emotional. He said he grew up watching his dad farm the land.
"I was born into this," he said. "The hard thing for me is I feel like I don't want the government to pay for me not to work. I have an issue with that."
The state of New Mexico and the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District are hoping more farmers can make that tough choice — at least long enough to help managers address the pending water debt. The district oversees irrigation for more than 140 square miles of farmland along a 175-mile stretch of the Rio Grande Valley to the north and south of Albuquerque.
Even it acknowledges the program is a temporary solution.
Casey Ish, a water resources specialist with the district, said over 200 irrigators have enrolled, and officials are targeting fields that are less productive or need to be rested.
"For us, this is just one tool and one way the district is trying to help the state manage the state's compact debt, but we certainly don't anticipate pulling a third or half the district into a fallowing program year over year," Ish said. "That's not sustainable from a price point or an ag point."
Thursday's virtual meeting included estimates of how much the Bureau of Reclamation will have to work with this season based on spring runoff predictions and current reservoir levels. Officials said it's possible the Rio Grande, as it passes through the heart of Albuquerque, could start drying in late August or early September.
With below-average snow cover and reservoirs in some places reaching critically low levels, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration noted in its most recent monthly climate report that concerns are mounting that the western drought will intensify.
On the Colorado River, the U.S. Interior Department recently proposed holding back water in Lake Powell to maintain Glen Canyon Dam's ability to generate electricity amid what it said were the driest conditions in the region in more than 1,200 years.
The potential impacts to lower basin states that could see their water supplies reduced — California, Nevada and Arizona — aren't yet known. But the conundrum speaks to the wide-ranging functions of Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Dam, and the need to quickly pivot to confront climate change.
In the Pacific Northwest, experts are predicting one of the driest summers on record, noting that nearly 71% of the region made up of Oregon, Washington and Idaho is in drought and nearly one-quarter is already experiencing extreme drought.
An irrigation district that supplies more than 1,000 farmers and ranchers on the California-Oregon border announced earlier this week that they would get a fraction of their normal water allocation this year due to drought. It's the third consecutive year that severe drought has impacted farmers, fish and tribes in a region where there's not enough water to satisfy competing demands.
Irrigation districts that supply water to farmers along the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico and along the Pecos in the east also are promising short seasons.
Just north of the New Mexico-Colorado border, farmers in the San Luis Valley turned on their spigots April 1, drawing on their share of the Rio Grande. Water managers in New Mexico immediately saw the gauges drop, meaning less water ultimately will make its way to central New Mexico.
Children's book illustrator scours Santa Fe after art theft - Associated Press
An accomplished illustrator of books for children including a work authored by Chelsea Clinton says she is searching for a packet of penguin illustrations that were taken from her unlocked car.
Gianna Marino said Wednesday that she filed a police report after the pack of 20 illustrations disappeared overnight from the backseat of her car in Santa Fe, during an extended stay in the Southwestern hub for artists and authors.
Marino said she scoured pawn shops, galleries and social media for the illustrations without finding a clue.
The theft won't halt publication of the images in a new book about penguins and the loving bonds of family, but Marino says she wanted to save the original illustrations or give them away to friends.
"I do very detailed work, and it's probably months and months of work," she said. "I actually woke up in the middle of the night and thought, 'Oh I forgot to lock the car.' It wasn't until about six hours later when I was driving down the road when I went, 'No!'"
Marino has written and illustrated more than a dozen children's books, collaborating with Clinton on the 2019 work about endangered species titled "Don't Let Them Disappear."
Mexican woman dies entangled crossing Arizona border wall - By Anita Snow Associated Press
Authorities are investigating the cause of death this week of a Mexican woman whose leg was entrapped while using a climbing harness and ended up hanging upside down off the border wall in eastern Arizona.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials offered few details, but the local sheriff's office said the woman was a 32-year-old who was attempting to cross the wall Monday night near Douglas, Arizona. Her name was not released.
The Cochise County Sheriff's office said she hung upside down "a significant amount of time."
The sheriff's office said it was in contact with the local Mexican consulate and continues to investigate what happened.
Customs and Border Protection said its Office of Professional Responsibility is working with the sheriff's office on the investigation and would release more information as it becomes available.
Migrants occasionally die while attempting to cross the border wall, including a man who died earlier this month from injuries he suffered when he fell from the barrier in Texas.
It was unknown if there was video surveillance in the area where the woman became entangled. Authorities did not describe the wall she was trying to climb over.
However, some of the last border wall construction carried out before the end of former President Donald Trump's term was in the Douglas area, with 30-foot-tall (9-meter) steel columns erected on U.S. Bureau of Land Management property.
On April 1, two migrants fell from the border barrier near Clint, Texas, about 12 miles (19 km) west of the Tornillo port of entry.
Emergency medical technicians rendered first aid and took them to a hospital in El Paso.
One man arrived at the hospital unconscious and died at the hospital on April 5.
The second was treated for a fractured right hand and returned to Customs and Border Protection officials, who returned him to Mexico.