Anthony rated New Mexico's safest city

The Albuquerque Journal ^ | February 6, 2026 | Algernon D’Ammassa

[CedarDave]

ANTHONY — Two of the safest cities in New Mexico are located in southern Doña Ana County, according to a recent survey published by home security company SafeWise.

Analyzing federally reported property and violent crime data, the company rated Anthony the state’s safest city, with neighboring Sunland Park ranking fourth. The two cities also shared the top five in last year’s ranking, and Sunland Park has been rated No. 1 in the past.

Anthony sits almost equidistant between Las Cruces and El Paso, Texas, and borders a Texas town also named Anthony as well as several unincorporated communities in a heavily agricultural region. Anthony’s city crest features chile peppers and cotton as representative local crops.

The U.S. Census measured Anthony’s population at about 8,700 in 2020, but local officials consider that an undercount. Anthony’s new mayor, Gabriel Holguin, says the true population is closer to 9,400.

Critics of SafeWise’s annual safe cities report argue its sampling methods measure municipalities that report less to the FBI’s national crime database rather than safety. Anthony reports crime data to the National Incident-Based Reporting System. Holguin referred the Journal to the FBI website for crime data.

SafeWise states on its website: “We use the most recent FBI-reported violent and property crime data, and adjust for population so we can compare cities of different sizes fairly. This approach helps us identify patterns and differences in reported crime rates.”

In a joint interview, Holguin and Anthony’s new police chief, Aurora Hernandez, said public safety involves more than policing and crime data. Hernandez, three weeks into her job heading a police department of 16 with two vacancies, said she had found an encouraging degree of cohesion in the community, where neighbors tend to know each other.

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TOPICS: Humor; Local News; Society
KEYWORDS: anthonyisgay; crime; illegals; newmexico; texas

[CedarDave]

What a joke:
Critics of SafeWise’s annual safe cities report argue its sampling methods measure municipalities that report less to the FBI’s national crime database rather than safety.

If it and Sunland Park are safe it's because President Trump closed the border last year. Sunland Park, right next to the open, then unfenced section of the border, had illegals and drug runners running all through the community trying to avoid Border Patrol. The BP could not devote as many officers as they might like due to their paperwork and baby-sitting duties for Biden's illegal mobs coming across in El Paso. If Anthony, NM, is safe, one reason is that illegals working in the farming sector maintain a low profile knowing that if caught, especially in the Texas portion of the city, know they will be deported. Not so much in New Mexico.

[CedarDave]

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[9YearLurker]

I’m used to developers naming streets after their kids, but not whole cities.

[Jane Long]

If it and Sunland Park are safe it’s because President Trump closed the border last year.

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Agree!

The lousy Gov of NM will NEVER thank him, though.

[x]

Alright, but what city did Anthony rate #1?

[Ronald77]

Lived in Las Cruces for 17 years, Anthony and sunland park are far from being safe cities.

[Fiji Hill]

I once drove down Route 9 from Columbus, NM to Sunland Park at night. There were no other cars on the road coming or going, and there was no sign of any habitation along the way. I figured Andy Williams' hit song Lonely Street may have been inspired Rte. 9. But I doubt if I was alone. Border jumpers and Border Patrol agents seeking to stop them were probably lurking in the darkness.

When I reached Sunland Park, I crossed a major street and Rte. 9 turned into a dirt road. I drove a few yards and a pair of headlights flashed at me from the front. I could see that it was a Border Patrol truck. I was apparently about to drive into Mexico. But I finally got on the right track and headed for El Paso, my destination.

[dynachrome]

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

When I was a child, Farmington NM had a terrible crime rate in 1954-1956.
When i moved back again in 1973 it had a crime rate equal to Philadelphia.
New Mexico is now the armpit of the south west.

[wjcsux]

The reason Anthony and Sunland Park are currently safe is because of the very active presence of the Border Patrol.

[zeestephen]

Nothing worth stealing?

[CedarDave]

Nothing worth stealing?

LOL. Not much unless you count big screen TV’s from Walmart made possible because SNAP payments for groceries allow work dollars to be used for these luxury items and down payments for big, new pickups.