After this violent outburst, David told his friends and family about his behavior and said he ought to go on a walkabout to reflect on his conduct. He said he would return in a few days. According to deputy Sheriff Bill Cavaliere, the investigating officer, on the morning of Halloween 1988, he walked into the desert, 145 miles east of Tucson, Arizona. At around dawn, a farmer spotted him walking along a dirt road. The farmer briefly chatted with him, as it was seldom he saw tourists in this remote part of New Mexico. David told him that he was looking for the "beast". Throughout the day, several local residents had seen him around the desert. He was acting strangely, talking to himself, and walking through rough terrain. Five days later, his car was found abandoned along a desolate stretch of New Mexico Highway 80, fourteen miles south of Roadforks, New Mexico. David's family believes that he went on a "vision quest" which is common among people in the New Age Movement. In this quest, the person goes on a journey to learn more about him or herself.
But migrant crossings have slowed to a near halt, bringing a striking change to the landscape along the southernmost stretch of California.
Shelters that once received migrants have closed, makeshift camps where migrants waited for processing are barren, and nonprofits have begun shifting their services to established immigrants in the U.S. who are facing deportation, or migrants stuck in southern Mexico.
Meanwhile, the Border Patrol, with the assistance of 750 U.S. military troops, has reinforced six miles of the border wall with concertina wire.
...Border Patrol agents in the San Diego sector are now making about 30 to 40 arrests per day, according to the agency. That’s down from more than 1,200 per day during the height of migrant arrivals to the region in April.
In May 2023, the Biden administration ended a pandemic-era policy under which migrants were denied the right to seek asylum and were rapidly returned to Mexico. In the leadup to the policy change, migrants descended on the border by the thousands.
Last April, San Diego became the top region along the border for migrant arrivals for the first time in decades. Stalnaker said there’s been a 70% decrease in migrant arrests so far this fiscal year, compared to the same period last year.
“To say there has been a dramatic change would be an understatement,” he said.
But Stalker noted that Border Patrol expects an increase in attempts by migrants to enter California by boat “as we continue to lock down the border here and secure it.”
With migrants now unable to seek legal ways of entering the U.S. through the asylum process, advocates anticipate that more will begin to risk their lives by attempting to enter illegally through more remote and dangerous terrain. Some desperate enough might even try to jump over all the newly installed concertina wire.
While officials investigate if a New Mexico Republican Party office was set aflame intentionally, state GOP leaders are calling for turning down the political temperature and strengthening the state's crime laws.
"This isn't just about Republicans," said Party Chair Amy Barela at a news conference on Monday. "This is about every New Mexican that has suffered because of a system that fails to hold criminals accountable. From car-jackings in Albuquerque to tragic murders in Las Cruces, the crisis is escalating, and time for action is now."
State Senate Minority Leader William Sharer of Farmington said legislators should work together to strengthen the state's juvenile code, target street gangs and cartels and support law enforcement. House Minority Leader Gail Armstrong of Magdalena said Republicans are still ready to come "to the table for solutions."
...Although the arson investigation has yet to be completed, New Mexico Senate Republicans tried to pin blame for the fire on rhetoric from Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández at a town hall Saturday in Santa Fe.
“In the wake of a prominent Democrat official calling for her supporters to be ‘agitators,’ it appears some unhinged supporters took the message to heart and acted out in a violent manner,” the group’s leaders said in a statement.
...Leger Fernández did call for her supporters to “agitate” with specific actions like coming to town halls, following Democratic politicians on social media and calling Republican members of Congress. In a statement Monday, Leger Fernández said “political violence of any sort is unacceptable, including this attack. The perpetrators must be held accountable.”
“It is a ludicrous leap to twist encouraging democratic participation, calling your representatives and showing up at town halls into an insinuation of violence,” Leger Fernández said.
