SUNLAND PARK, New Mexico – A 29-foot limestone statue of Christ atop of Mount Cristo Rey has not only brought the faithful from both sides of the border but also criminals who use the land’s vulnerability as a corridor.
“People that are into the drug smuggling and alien smuggling use this as a corridor to bring people across because there is no fence,” Ruben Escandon Jr., spokesperson for the Mount Cristo Rey Restoration Committee, said.
“Even though it is a treacherous terrain, they still make their way and this is an area that Border Patrol monitors,” Escandon said.
Escandon said people come up on a weekly basis to damage and/or graffiti the monument.
The land behind Mt. Cristo Rey in Sunland Park, New Mexico, is also home to a 2.5-mile open gap in the wall.
The U.S. Border Patrol combats the exposure by utilizing resources such as sensors, horse patrols and ATVs.
For Escandon, who is also a third generation volunteer, he said despite the additional support Mt. Cristo Rey has received, they have still seen serious cases in the area.
“We have to be armed because of past incidents that happened with robberies and assaults,” Escandon said. “I know it’s a stretch to pull up this multimillion dollar wall up there or fence to protect immigration, but I think for our purposes it would protect the monument.”
Even with the illegal activity the sacred land often encounters, MCRRC President Rosario Bustillos Jr. said it doesn’t steer him or the thousands of people each year away from the true meaning of the religious grounds.
“I (still) come up here and say my prayers up here,” Bustillos said.
The meaning for childhood friends Bustillos and Escandon, however, runs deeper for them.
“My dad used to get us on weekends, get the rake and the shovel and start walking. We would come up here and fix the trail,” Bustillos said. “We don’t get paid, we just take it upon ourselves just to keep our family tradition.”
THE LINE: A 29-ft statue of Christ on top of Mt. Cristo Rey near El Paso can be seen for miles. The location, however, is also heavily patrolled by Border Patrol due to an approx. 2.4-mile gap that allows people to cross through the mountain. SERIES➡️ https://t.co/bVelZ7Vuht pic.twitter.com/y65DezoB6I
— Adrian Garcia (@adrianrolgarcia) July 24, 2018
Bustillos said his family also helped build the shrine when a priest from Marfa, Texas, envisioned the statue decades ago.
“They finished the sculpture in 1939, dedicated it in 1940 (and) ever since then, it’s been here,” Escandon said. “People come from all over the country to give thanks and to worship at the top.”
THE LINE
— Tiffany Huertas (@tiffanychuertas) July 25, 2018
He is a third generation volunteer of the Mount Cristo Rey.
The 29 ft tall limestone statue of Christ sits atop the Sierra de Cristo Rey in Sunland Park, New Mexico.
At 10 p.m. we explain why there is a border wall gap by the statue & why he wants a fence. pic.twitter.com/xrrPID8B5F
Escandon said about 30 volunteers -- including himself and Bustillos -- work year round to help maintain Mt. Cristo Rey.
In 2006, the El Paso Border Patrol Sector said it apprehended more than 120,000 people. But after receiving funding for more security from the Secure Fence Act of 2006, the number of apprehensions went down to about 25,000 a year.