International Boundary Marker #1 - U.S. Historic Survey Stones and Monuments on Waymarking.com

Monument is near Sunland Park, New Mexico, in Dona Ana County. Monument is on McNutt Road 2.6 miles south of Racetrack Drive, on the right when traveling south. The first international monument of the 276 installed to the west along the international land boundary which marks the international boundary between the United States and Mexico. This monument was placed on January 31, 1855 in accordance with the 1853 treaty and was registered by the international water and Commission between the United States and Mexico on June 2, 1980 in commemoration of the first centennial of the establishment of this international Commission. IMPORTANT UPDATE!!! --> This historic boundary marker is actually considered to be INSIDE Mexico. If you walk up to it, even if you do not go around to its other side, you are in Mexico. <-- --> The true border is the line of white-painted rocks. It is strictly enforced by BOTH SIDES. <-- Uniformed US Border Patrol are very vigilant here, as are their Mexican counterparts. USBP are very helpful in sharing where the actual enforced border is -- it's marked, but still subtle and can be confusing. We (Benchmark Blasterz) were told by two helpful and polite USBP agents that if we walked over to take a pic with this marker, we risked getting arrested by Mexican border police for illegal entry into that country. Mexican border police are almost always at this little park. On the day we were there, USBP pointed out 2 Mexican police officers in plain clothes and 1 on top of a nearby the hill who was in uniform,watching us with binoculars. USBP told is that if arrested by MX BP, the police would take us to jail in Juarez. We would have to make an appearance before a Mexican immigration judge and would be charged with the offense of illegally entering Mexico outside of an official port of entry. We would have the right to ask for a lawyer from the US Consulate to represent us in court, and to see a person from the consulate every day we were in jail. We would be advised to plead guilty by the Consulate lawyer. After the plea was entered, we would be convicted of this offense and would have to pay a fine before being formally deported back to the US at International Bridge 1 downtown. That process takes about 3 days, and according to USBP, happens very frequently. At deportation, we would be turned over (in custody) to the US Border Patrol at International Bridge 1. After the USBP did the transfer paperwork with MXBP, USBP report the incident to the local US Attorney. While we would be allowed back into the US, officially we would not be free to go, but instead would be released on our own recognizance, and required to stay in El Paso while the US Attorney decided whether to charge us with the offense of illegal entry into the US (max fine $500.00 if convicted). These charging decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. The vast majority of them are declined for prosecution. We were also told that if caught over the border, under no circumstances should we try to bribe the MX BP to simply step back over the border. MX BP are very proud and irritated by the US BP enforcement actions against their citizens. They see these American tourist incursions as incredibly disrespectful and arrogant. Offering 20 bucks to step back 5 feet into the US would get us a serious charge of bribing an officer, to be prosectued in the Mexican justice system, where you stay in jail until trial. FYI for future finders -- use a zoom to get this waymark, and mind where the rocks are. If in doubt as to where the eforced border is, ASK!!! Stay safe down here!! :)

Monumentation Type: Concrete post Monument Category: National boundary marker Accessible to general public: yes County: Dona Ana County USGS Quad: Smeltertown Approximate date of monument: 01/31/1855 Monumentation Type (if other): Not listed Monument Category (if other): Not listed Explain Non-Public access: Not listed Historical significance: Not listed Monument Website: Not listed NGS PID: Not listed Other Coordinates: Not Listed Other Coordinates details: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
1. A closeup photo of the monument is required.
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2. A 'distant' photo including the monument in the view is highly recommended. Include the compass direction you faced when you took the picture.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   12/29/2014 Team2002 visited it 02/24/2014 Papou visited it 08/10/2010 Benchmark Blasterz visited it

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