BODIES AT THE BORDER Thousands of migrants have died trying to reach the American dream
BRETT KELMAN AND GUSTAVO SOLIS THE DESERT SUN
CALEXICO - The man lay face down in the desert, less than a mile north of the Mexican border. He had been crawling, dragging himself through the dirt, when he died. A border patrol agent had been tracking a group of undocumented immigrants through the area when he stumbled upon the decomposing body. It had been lying there maybe a month, during which time temperatures had topped 108. The dead man was short and thin, dressed in head-to-toe denim with a large white belt buckle, dark hiking shoes and Christmas socks. In his pocket, investigators found a few pesos, three phone cards and a receipt from the Don Juan Hotel, a cheap place to stay just across the border in Mexicali. The receipt listed a name — “Lucio Paulino” — but no one could be certain this was the dead man’s real name. The next day, authorities found another body. This time, a man was floating in the All-AmerPlease see BORDER, 4A
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In Imperial County, hundreds of unidentified migrants have died trying to cross the border
Angel of the Desert: How one man sacrifices to rescue migrants stranded along the border
Those left behind: The story of a family that lost two men during the journey to America
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POLICE SHOOTINGS
National tragedies carrying race relations to the forefront
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David O. Brown, the Dallas police chief trying to help his city heal after the deaths of five officers Thursday, knows the horror of such violence all too well: His son killed a police officer six years ago before being fatally shot himself. 1B
Around the country people reacted with demonstrations similar to the ones organized in 2014 after Eric Garner of New York, Michael Brown of Missouri, and Freddie Gray of Maryland were killed by white police officers. Even before then, Nixon and many other African Americans around the country had already been having conversations about how young black Please see RACE, 8A
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GUSTAVO SOLIS
Sandra Nixon does not let her teenage grandson stay out at night. The high school student stands at 6-foot-1, 155 pounds and his grandmother worries that his size and dark complexion may be intimidating to some police officers. And, because of how an officer may perceive him, “I don’t allow my grandson to be out after dark,” said Nixon, 61, of Palm Springs. Racial tension became the focus of national attention early this week after the deaths of two black men — Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota — at the hands of police officers were caught on video.
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Valley residents, officials offer their thoughts on police, community relations OPINION, 26A