Much of the country has moved on from the COVID-19 pandemic, but Ruth and Mohammed Nasrullah keep a vigil from their Houston home, posting thousands of pictures and stories of those who have fallen: coaches, tax clerks, teachers, autoworkers and graphic designers. “We spend our time immersed in death,” Ruth said of the couple’s COVID-19 Wall of Memories, which went on online when graveyards were widening and fear was spreading in January 2021.
A loosening of those policies by the Biden administration resulted in a record surge of illegal border crossings, hitting 2.2 million in fiscal year 2022. Tough enforcement measures by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott — praised by conservatives — to deter undocumented migrants from entering his state meant that San Diego in April became the main entry point for migrants along the southern border.