The Antelope Wells Port of Entry is an international

border crossing Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...

between

Antelope Wells __NOTOC__ Antelope Wells is a small unincorporated community in Hidalgo County, New Mexico, United States. The community is located along the Mexico-United States border, in the New Mexico Bootheel region, located across the border from the smal ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and El Berrendo, Chihuahua,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. It is one of three border crossings into New Mexico, along with the Columbus Port of Entry and the Santa Teresa Port of Entry, and by far the most remote, located in the sparsely populated

New Mexico Bootheel The New Mexico Bootheel is a salient which comprises the southwestern corner of New Mexico. As part of the Gadsden Purchase it is bounded on the east by the Mexican state of Chihuahua along a line at extending south to latitude 31°20′0″ ...

. The nearest towns,

Janos, Chihuahua Janos is a town located in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua. It serves as the municipal seat of government for the surrounding Janos Municipality of the same name. As of 2010, the town of Janos had a population of 2,738. Janos was possibl ...

and

Hachita, New Mexico Hachita is a census-designated place in Grant County, New Mexico, United States. Its population was 49 as of the 2010 census. Hachita has a post office with ZIP code 88040. New Mexico State Road 9, New Mexico State Road 81, and New Mexico St ...

, are both approximately away. The crossing is open daily from 10a.m. to 4p.m.

Mountain Time The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) when standard time ( UTC−07:00) is in effect, and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time ( UTC−06:00). The cloc ...

and is staffed by a single

U.S. Customs and Border Protection United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilit ...

employee. The port of entry was temporarily closed on April 18, 2020 due to travel restrictions between the United States and Mexico due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The port reopened on November 29, 2021. Antelope Wells receives the least traffic of any

Mexico–United States border The Mexico–United States border ( es, frontera Estados Unidos–México) is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traver ...

crossing, so little that the CBP does not report official statistics for the facility. In 2017, the average traffic was estimated at 750–1000 personal vehicles per month, up from 200–500 five years earlier. In 2014, traffic was reported to sometimes be as low as four vehicles per day. Despite the light traffic volume, a new $11 million U.S. port of entry facility was built in 2013. Mexico has also worked to improve access to the crossing by paving the dirt access road connecting it to Federal Highway 2. However, it was reported in January 2017 that construction was on hold with about still consisting of a rutted dirt track. The Antelope Wells border crossing was established in 1872 under President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

and was named after a nearby ranch. It has been staffed since 1928.

Recreation

The Antelope Wells Port of Entry had served in the past as the southern terminus of the

Continental Divide Trail The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (in short Continental Divide Trail (CDT)) is a United States National Scenic Trail with a length measured by the Continental Divide Trail Coalition of between the U.S. border with Chihuahua, Mexico a ...

; since the mid-1990s access to the divide at the US-Mexico border is restricted due to private ownership of the land by Diamond A Ranch. To avoid an extended road walk along Highway 81, the official beginning of the CDT is now at Crazy Cook, New Mexico northeast of Antelope Wells in the

Big Hatchet Mountains The Big Hatchet Mountains are an 18 mi (29 km) long, mountain range in southeast Hidalgo County, New Mexico, adjacent the northern border of Chihuahua state, Mexico. The range lies just south of a westerly excursion of the Continental ...

References

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Recreation

References

See also