City denies National Guard access to border area

The Sunland Park City Council voted 4-2 Tuesday to keep the National Guard away from Mount Cristo Rey, a religious site along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The federal government had requested a right-of-way permit that would allow patrols on the mountain. Part of the mountain is owned by the city, and part is owned by the Catholic Church, according to KFOX-TV in El Paso.

Border Patrol spokesman Doug Mosier told KVIA-TV in El Paso that troops will still patrol areas near the mountain.

Sunland Park, located in New Mexico just west of El Paso, has about 13,000 residents. Its population is overwhelmingly Hispanic and Spanish-speaking.

The community of Anapra spans both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border near the mountain, but has no border crossing to connect residents whose families have lived in the area since before there was an international boundary there. The area is characterized as a high-smuggling corridor.

There are about 500 National Guard troops stationed along New Mexico’s border with Mexico, most near Deming and Columbus.

At the meeting, some residents who spoke against allowing the Guard access to the mountain said their presence would instill fear in area residents. Others said religious sites should not be militarized.

One councilor who voted in favor of allowing the Guard to access the mountain said it would increase safety in the area. Another said Border Patrol agents in the area have helped decrease vandalism to religious sites on the mountain.