ANIMAS VALLEY, NM - In an ongoing effort to seal the border with Mexico, the U.S. Border Patrol is building a new substation in the southwest corner of New Mexico, considered one of the weaker points along the international line.
The substation, or forward operating base, will be located in Hidalgo County, also known as New Mexico's boot heel.
A billboard advertising Hidalgo County displays the towering silhouette of two cowboys on horseback riding in a cloud of gray dust. The image evokes a sense of mystery and adventure, which is exactly the feeling you get bumping along the rough dirt roads that take you into the heart of the county.
In this southernmost part of New Mexico, there are two ghost towns, bad cell phone reception and only about one person per square mile.
“Geronimo surrendered for the final time not far from here,” Klump said. “It was wild country then and it's really wild and unsettled now.”
The landscape on the way to Klump's 15,000-acre ranch is an expanse of rolling hills of yellow grass that shine like gold under the sunshine. Mountains rise on all sides against an open blue sky. The isolated beauty makes for excellent smuggling territory.
Right now, the nearest border patrol station is almost two hours away in the town of Lordsburg. After a year of evaluating sites, the Border Patrol recently announced they would build a forward operating base five miles from Klump's property. For many locals, the base couldn't come any sooner.
“Here we have illegal drug traffic and illegal human smuggling,” Klump said. “But the majority by far is the drug trafficking.”
Klump said not all of the criminals have been caught.
“Anytime that I am away and my family is here, I worry,” Klump said. “I worry what will happen and if they are safe.”
Overall, apprehension rates along the U.S.-Mexico border have dropped 71 percent since 2000. And while New Mexico has the fewest apprehensions of all border states, the remote boot heel is a point of concern.
As neighboring states clamp down on border security by adding more agents and infrastructure, illegal traffickers are increasingly looking for weak spots along the border, according to Chris Mangusing the Border Patrol agent in charge of this section of New Mexico.
“That's why we are so adamant about being on the border, about making sure that we keep a presence down there,” Mangusing said. “We definitely know that we could definitely be the next Arizona.”
The substation will be built on land leased from the Diamond A Ranch, the largest private property owner in the Animas Valley. It will be 20 miles north of the actual border, which has upset some residents who say it should be further south.
“If they really want to stop it, that’s a better place,” she said.
Gault's ranch is nine miles from the border. She said she and her husband have had strangers come to their home looking for food on more than one occasion. While the new substation will help, she worries it may not be as effective.
Agent Mangusing said most illegal activity takes place on the less visible routes through the mountains and not the open grassland, where agents have ground radar and thermal night vision in place.
New Mexico already has two forward operating bases near the border. This latest base will have a residential area for agents, horse corrals and a heliport capable of landing a Black Hawk helicopter. The new base is scheduled to be completed in four to six months.
