Editing Sunland Park, New Mexico

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name      = Sunland Park, New Mexico
| settlement_type    = [[City]]
| nickname           = 
| motto              = 
<!-- Images -->
| image_skyline      = Sunland Park Statue.jpg
| imagesize          = 250px
| image_caption      = Statue of Christ the King (by [[Urbici Soler]]) on Mount Cristo Rey in Sunland Park
| image_flag         = 
| image_seal         = SUNLAND.png
| seal_size          = 95px
| image_map          = Dona_Ana_County_New_Mexico_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Sunland_Park_Highlighted.svg
| mapsize            = 250px
| map_caption        = Location of Sunland Park, New Mexico
| image_map1         = 
| mapsize1           = 
| map_caption1       = 
| pushpin_map        = USA#New Mexico 
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in the United States##Location in New Mexico
| pushpin_label      = Sunland Park
| pushpin_label_position  = top
<!-- Location -->
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = United States
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[New Mexico]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in New Mexico|County]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Doña Ana County, New Mexico|Dona Ana]]
| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = Council-Manager
| leader_title       = [[Mayor]]
| leader_name        = Javier Perea
| leader_title1      = City Manager
| leader_name1       = Michael Martinez
| leader_title2      = 
| leader_name2       =

<!-- Area -->
| unit_pref          = Imperial
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="TigerWebMapServer">{{cite web|title=ArcGIS REST Services Directory|url=https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/5/query?where=STATE='35'&outFields=NAME,STATE,PLACE,AREALAND,AREAWATER,LSADC,CENTLAT,CENTLON&orderByFields=PLACE&returnGeometry=false&returnTrueCurves=false&f=json|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 12, 2022}}</ref>
| area_total_km2     = 38.88
| area_land_km2      = 38.17
| area_water_km2     = 0.71
| area_total_sq_mi   = 15.01
| area_land_sq_mi    = 14.74
| area_water_sq_mi   = 0.27
<!-- Population -->
| population_as_of   = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_footnotes = <ref name="USCensusDecennial2020CenPopScriptOnly"/>
| population_total   = 16702
| population_density_km2 = 437.55
| population_density_sq_mi = 1133.26

<!-- General information -->
| timezone           = [[Mountain Time Zone|Mountain (MST)]]
| utc_offset         = &minus;7
| timezone_DST       = MDT
| utc_offset_DST     = &minus;6
| elevation_footnotes = <ref name=gnis/>
| elevation_ft       = 3740
| coordinates        = {{coord|31|51|30|N|106|38|26|W|region:US-NM_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code_type   = [[ZIP code]]s
| postal_code        = 88063, 88008
| area_code          = [[Area code 575|575]]
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 35-75640
| blank1_name        = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info        = 2412006<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2412006}}</ref>
| website            = {{URL|https://sunlandpark-nm.gov/}}
| footnotes          = 
}}

'''Sunland Park''' is a city in southeastern [[Doña Ana County, New Mexico]], United States, on the borders of [[Texas]] and the [[Mexico|Mexican]] state of [[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]], with [[Ciudad Juárez]] adjoining it on the south and [[El Paso, Texas]], on the east. The community of [[Santa Teresa, New Mexico|Santa Teresa]] adjoins it on the northwest. The population of Sunland Park was 14,106 at the [[2010 United States Census|2010 census]]<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US3575640| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Sunland Park city, New Mexico| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| access-date=November 3, 2015| archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213053041/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US3575640| archive-date=February 13, 2020| url-status=dead}}</ref> and was estimated at 17,978 by the [[United States Census Bureau]] in 2019.<ref name="USCensusEst2019">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.2019.html|title=Population and Housing Unit Estimates|access-date=May 21, 2020}}</ref> Though it lies adjacent to El Paso, being in Doña Ana County makes it a part of the [[Las Cruces, New Mexico|Las Cruces]] [[metropolitan statistical area]]. Las Cruces is {{convert|42|mi}} to the north.

The city is at the foot of [[Mount Cristo Rey#Cristo Rey|Mount Cristo Rey]], next to the [[Rio Grande]], and is named for [[Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino]], which lies within the city limits. The location was formerly called "Anapra", a name shared by an adjacent area of [[Ciudad Juárez]].

==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/>

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], Sunland Park has a total area of {{convert|30.1|sqkm|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|29.5|sqkm|order=flip}} is land and {{convert|0.6|sqkm|order=flip|1}}, or 2.02%, is covered by water.<ref name="Census 2010"/>

Sunland Park is the only U.S. border town to the south of the Rio Grande.<ref name=Conreras>Rissell Conreras, [https://apnews.com/general-news-045a0726bab44b46822216ea19a0ea16 Border city works to put scandals behind amid new ones], Associated Press (January 28, 2016).</ref> The city sits close to the unincorporated community of [[Santa Teresa, New Mexico]], another border town.<ref name=Conreras/>

==Economy and points of interest==
[[File:Wester Playland.jpeg|thumbnail|right|[[Western Playland]] Amusement Park]]
The [[Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino]] is located in the city;<ref name=Goodman>{{cite news |author=J. David Goodman |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/07/us/marijuana-new-mexico-sunland-park.html |title=Marijuana Buyers From Texas Fuel a 'Little Amsterdam' in New Mexico |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 7, 2024 |accessdate=January 7, 2024}}</ref> in the 2010s, it was the main economic driver of the city, which suffers from a high poverty rate.<ref name=Conreras/> After [[Marijuana in New Mexico|New Mexico began legal sales of marijuana for recreational use in 2022]], a booming marijuana economy sprung up in Sunland Park, sustained primarily by Texans who travel to New Mexico to purchase marijuana, as recreational marijuana sales are prohibited in Texas.<ref name=Goodman/> As of January 2024, sixteen [[marijuana dispensaries]] operated in Sunland Park, the second-most in the state (after Albuquerque, which has a much larger population).<ref name=Goodman/>

Although the town sits on the U.S.-Mexico border, there is no [[List of Mexico–United States border crossings|port of entry]] in the town.<ref name=Conreras/>

[[Western Playland]], an amusement park, moved to Sunland Park in 2006, after it left its original location in [[El Paso County, Texas]]'s Ascarate Park, where it had opened in 1960.<ref name=Kolenc>{{cite news |first=Vic |last=Kolenc |url=https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/money/business/2022/11/03/western-playland-sold-traders-village-marketplaces-sunland-park/69614245007/ |title=Western Playland under new ownership, after 60 years |work=El Paso Times |date=November 1, 2022}}</ref> The park shut down in November 2021, but reopened in 2023 under new ownership.<ref name=Kolenc/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ktsm.com/local/western-playland-preparing-for-opening-day-under-new-ownership/ |title=Western Playland ready for new season under new owners |publisher=WTSM |date=February 24, 2023}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1990= 8179
|2000= 13309
|2010= 14106
|2020= 16702
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref><ref name="USCensusDecennial2020CenPopScriptOnly">{{cite web|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/pl?get=P1_001N,NAME&for=place:*&in=state:35&key=5ccd0821c15d9f4520e2dcc0f8d92b2ec9336108|title=Census Population API|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 12, 2022}}</ref>
}}
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=June 15, 2015|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> of 2010, 14,267 people, 3,884 households, and 3,314 families resided in the city. The [[population density]] was {{convert|1,260.6|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people|people|abbr=on}}. The 4,131 housing units averaged {{convert|342.6|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units&nbsp;|units|}}. The [[Race (United States Census)|racial makeup]] of the city was 76.00% White, 0.63% African American, 0.51% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 26.02% from other races, and 2.76% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 96.44% of the population.

Of the 3,884 households, 44.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 24% had a female householder with no husband present, and 11.5% were not families. About 12.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.63 and the average family size was 3.97.

In the city, the population was distributed as 37.5% under the age of 18, 11.9% from 20 to 24, 7.6% from 25 to 29, 6.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.4 males.

==Government==
Sunland Park is led by a mayor and a city council.<ref name=Mancini>Nasya Mancini, [https://kfoxtv.com/news/local/sunland-park-mayor-javier-perera-back-in-office-after-gone-for-nearly-six-weeks Sunland Park mayor returns to office after 49-day absence], KFOX-TV (December 8, 2022).</ref> In the mayor's absence, the powers of the mayor are exercised by a mayor [[pro tem]].<ref name=Mancini/> In the event of a vacancy in the mayor's seat between elections, the council selects a mayor by appointment.<ref>[https://www.krwg.org/regional/2012-04-19/new-mayor-selected-for-new-mexicos-sunland-park New Mayor Selected For New Mexico's Sunland Park], KRWG (April 19, 2012).</ref> There is also a [[city manager]].<ref name=Conreras/> City politics are often fractious,<ref>Kent Paterson, [https://nmpolitics.net/index/2012/04/meet-sunland-parks-new-mayor-elect/ Meet Sunland Park’s new mayor-elect], ''NMPolitics.net'' (April 20, 2012).</ref><ref name=TroubledCity>[https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/local/new-mexico/2016/02/08/troubled-nm-border-city-gets-temp-city-manager/80008372/ Troubled N.M. border city gets temp city manager], Associated Press (February 8, 2016).</ref> and in the 2010s, local politics were marred by a series of scandals.<ref name=TroubledCity/><ref name=Conreras/>

==Education==
Sunland Park is served by the [[Gadsden Independent School District]], which operates these schools located in the city:
*Santa Teresa High School
*Santa Teresa Middle School
*Desert View Elementary School
*Riverside Elementary School
*Sunland Park Elementary School

Sunland Park also has a branch campus of [[Doña Ana Community College]], a two-year college branch of [[New Mexico State University]].

==Infrastructure==
Water is supplied by the Camino Real Regional Utility Authority.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.kvia.com/news/new-mexico/sunland-park-santa-teresa-residents-surprised-angered-over-water-bill-increase/1130724763|title=Sunland Park, Santa Teresa residents surprised & angered over water bill increase|last=Gordon|first=Michael|date=October 10, 2019|work=KVIA|language=en-US|access-date=October 10, 2019}}</ref>

==Points of interest==
*[[Mt. Cristo Rey]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Doña Ana County, New Mexico}}
{{New Mexico}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Doña Ana County, New Mexico]]
[[Category:Cities in New Mexico]]
[[Category:New Mexico populated places on the Rio Grande]]
[[Category:Mexico–United States border crossings]]