NM has a lot of drug problems in the SW portion of the state, the border with Mexico is virtually wide open. Luna and Hildago counties have their share of meth labs. If you travel through NM south of I-10, pack a pistol and rifle with you.
In 2002, I interviewed for a job with the school district in Lordsburg. I was not familiar with the area and was astounded to see that just about all of the businesses in the downtown district were closed. It seemed that I was considering moving to a ghost town. I learned that the whole region was depressed because the market for copper, on which the economy depends, was bad.
I didn't get the job, but at the school, they proudly showed me a new machine they had acquired that makes cards for the card catalog in the school library. Later, I stopped at the public library in Columbus--about 30 miles south of I-10--and noticed that it also had a card catalog. This was the last library in which I ever used one.
While driving east from Columbus toward El Paso late at night, I wondered if New Mexico State Route 9 might have inspired Andy Williams' hit song Lonely Street. The only other vehicles I remember seeing were Border Patrol SUV's. The border was just to the right of the highway. Later, after crossing a north-south road at a stop sign, a couple of vehicles flashed their headlights at me. I could see they were Border Patrol, and had I proceeded east, I would have crossed into Mexico.