Editing Sunland Park, New Mexico (section)

==History==
Sunland Park was formed when the unincorporated communities of Anapra, Sunland Park, and Meadow Vista voted to incorporate as Sunland Park on July 13, 1983.

===2012 extortion scandal===
In February 2012, then-Mayor Pro Tem Daniel Salinas and City Manager Jaime Aguilera were arrested and charged with [[extortion]] of mayoral candidate Gerardo Hernandez. Salinas and Aguilera allegedly tried to [[blackmail]] Hernandez into withdrawing from the race with a videotape of Hernandez receiving a [[lap dance]] in his campaign office.

An election for mayor was held in March 2012, with Daniel Salinas winning the mayor's office, but he was denied taking office due to extortion, [[bribery]], and [[election fraud]] charges filed against him, which disqualified him from taking an oath of office.<ref>rnikolewski, [http://www.capitolreportnewmexico.com/tag/daniel-salinas/], ''[[Capital Report - New Mexico]]'', May 1, 2012</ref>

===Border barrier===
{{Further|Mexico–United States barrier}}
[[File:Border wall at Anapra.jpg|thumb|left|This stretch of wall between Sunland Park and [[Anapra]], Mexico, was planned during the Obama administration.]]
[[File:American Dam and Canal pano.jpg|thumb|left|This short stretch running up [[Mount Cristo Rey]] from the [[American Dam]], in the background of this photo, was built by [[We Build the Wall]].]]

A private organization, named [[We Build the Wall]] built a 0.5-mile wall on at the [[Mexico–United States border|border]] of Sunland Park and Mexico in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/build-wall-group-privately-funded-border-wall-criminal/story?id=64827607|title=Group behind privately funded border wall under criminal investigation|last=Jacobo|first=Julia|date=August 8, 2019|website=ABC News|language=en|access-date=August 9, 2019}}</ref> Privately financed using a [[GoFundMe]] campaign, the wall was built on private property but the gate they constructed blocked access needed to maintain a federal dam.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/5605349/gofundme-border-wall-new-mexico/|title=The GoFundMe Border Wall in New Mexico Has Been Ordered Open During the Day|last=Reilly|first=Katie|date=June 12, 2019|magazine=Time|language=en|access-date=June 12, 2019}}</ref> The barrier in Sunland Park also blocked access to Monument One, an official marker of the [[International Boundary and Water Commission]] that was set where New Mexico, Texas and the Mexican state of Chihuahua converge.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/05/30/we-build-the-wall-gofundme-sunland-park-new-mexico-completed-soon/1292467001/|title=GoFundMe border wall construction back in motion after New Mexico city lifts cease-and-desist|last1=Martinez|first1=Aaron|last2=Montes|first2=Aaron|date=May 30, 2019|work=El Paso Times|access-date=May 31, 2019}}</ref> Lighting along the stretch was shut off in 2021 after the group failed to pay electricity bills, and the owner of the land upon which the wall stood owed property taxes and penalties.<ref>{{cite news |first=Vic |last=Kolenc |url=https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2022/03/07/el-paso-private-border-wall-no-lights-big-tax-bill-we-build-the-wall-funds-frozen/9346089002/ |title=Frozen bank accounts leave group's El Paso-area border wall with no lights, big tax bill |work=El Paso Times |date=March 7, 2022}}</ref> The group's leaders built only two small stretches of wall/fencing, while defrauding donors of hundreds of thousands of dollars, which were diverted to personal expenses.<ref name=SchwartzTrevizo>{{cite news |author=Jeremy Schwartz & Perla Trevizo |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/they-built-the-wall-problems-remain-after-founders-guilty-plea |title=They Built the Wall. Problems Remain After Founder's Guilty Plea |work=[[ProPublica]] |date=May 2, 2022}}</ref> Among the group's organizers, [[Brian Kolfage]] pleaded guilty to [[wire fraud]] conspiracy and a tax offense; [[Steve Bannon]] was also criminally charged, but accepted a pardon from [[Donald Trump]] during his final hours as president.<ref name=SchwartzTrevizo/>