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 News from Around the Americas | July 2006 
Guard Troops Won't Patrol at Base of Cristo Rey
 Adriana M. Chávez - El Paso Times
| | The view from Mount Cristo Rey sweeps two countries, three states—Texas, and immeasurable faith. In the shadow of a massive limestone monument on the peak, political boundaries slip away and heaven seems within reach. | 
| | Each autumn, a rocky trail crunches under the feet of 30,000 pilgrims zigzagging their way up the 2.5-mile desert trail to the monument, which depicts Christ on the cross. |
El Pasoan Rodolfo Jimenez raised his children in the shadow of Mount Cristo Rey, and has often relied on the religious significance of the sculpture atop the mountain as a source of strength.
"That statue is very important. As a Catholic, it talks to me every day," Jimenez said during Tuesday's meeting of the Sunland Park City Council. "It's more than a refuge; it's a sanctuary."
Jimenez was one of about 30 people who attended the meeting to speak out against letting National Guard soldiers operate around the base of a part of the mountain that is owned by Sunland Park.
Council members voted 4-2 to deny a right-of-entry permit to the federal government. Enrique Palomares, Sunland Park city attorney, said a permit was requested by a U.S. Border Patrol agent in June.
If approved, the permit would have allowed soldiers to be stationed in the Mount Cristo Rey area until Dec. 31, 2007.
In May, President Bush ordered the deployment of 6,000 soldiers to help the Border Patrol for at least a year, launching Operation Jump Start.
About 500 National Guard soldiers are now on the New Mexico-Mexico border, mostly around Deming and Columbus.
Mount Cristo Rey is a high- traffic smuggling corridor, officials have said.
Ruben Escandon Jr., vice president of the Mount Cristo Rey Restoration Committee, said at the meeting that he has seen robberies and vandalism decrease since Border Patrol agents increased their presence around the mountain, and that he wouldn't mind if council members were to permit soldiers to operate near the monument.
"Our stance is we have no problem if that is the case," Escandon said.
Escandon added that the committee falls under the jurisdiction of the Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces. Bishop Ricardo Ramirez could not be reached for comment.
Sunland Park Mayor Ruben Segura said although he respects what Border Patrol agents and National Guard soldiers are doing to secure border areas, he feels the U.S. House of Representatives is lacking leadership.
"This issue can't be resolved just by sending in the military," Segura said. "I understand that the issue is not going to be able to be resolved locally, but I ask the House of Representatives ... not to parade this issue."
Adriana M. Chávez may be reached at achavez@elpasotimes.com |
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