As you might guess, he was a (D) State Senator.
Also, relying on a hand held GPS, obviously without a moving map which certainly would have depicted the border is absolutely stupid. His actions reflect badly on all of us AZ pilots.
The FAA should suspend his license for 90 days based on his sheer stupidity.
Is there such a thing as a handheld GPS without a moving map? I know some very old panel mounts don’t have them but I’ve never seen such a handheld. I can’t imagine building a Lancair post-2002 without a panel mounted moving map anyway.
Based on his comment about ATC “losing” him, I’d guess he was getting flight following and assumed he’d get vectors to keep him out of Mexico. Probably never even looked at his handheld until it was too late.