I didn't know that illegal immigrants die crossing desert near here:

"Immigrant dies while crossing desert

Associated Press

Article Launched: 06/22/2007 05:21:49 AM MDT

DEMING, N.M. - A 26-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico died while trying to cross the southern New Mexico desert, Border Patrol agents say.

Agents recovered the body of Ismael Serrano-Mendez of Leon, Guanajuato on Wednesday. It appeared that he succumbed to heat exhaustion, but an autopsy will be done by the state Office of the Medical Investigator to determine the cause of death.

Seventeen illegal immigrants have died since Oct. 1 in the Border Patrol's El Paso sector, which includes parts of Texas and all of New Mexico, said sector spokesman Patrick Berry. Six of those deaths occurred in the Deming area, he said.

The latest victim was traveling with two other men when he died, Berry said. The two men were picked up but they didn't immediately tell the agents about Serrano-Mendez. One later told an agent, Berry said.

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Information from: Albuquerque Journal, www.abqjournal.co

I shouldn't be surprised, though. In the 1.5 hours it takes to drive from the nearest city in New Mexico to Deming, you pass little human habitation and not a single tree.