Anthony rated New Mexico's safest city

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. 

"They look for each other," she said. Hernandez also observed a high degree of trust in police officers.

Yet Anthony is growing, with infrastructure projects and major community development at a former golf course in the works, opening the door to newer residents, increased commerce and more traffic. 

With that in mind, Holguin — who was elected last November after serving four years on the city’s board of trustees — said a community-oriented focus was a major priority in his choices for appointed officials. Hernandez, while new to Anthony, served most recently as police chief in Hatch, another small agricultural community.

From 2019 through 2025, Anthony’s police chief was Vanessa Ordoñez, who left at the end of the year with the change of administration at City Hall. She is also running for Doña Ana County sheriff as a Democrat in November.

“We implemented several strategies that helped strengthen public safety in our border community,” Ordoñez told the Journal.

Among these were establishing a criminal investigations division within the Anthony Police Department and cross-training officers in investigative methods to respond to crime trends and cover gaps. Anthony police officers are also cross-commissioned by the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office and occasionally assist deputies on calls beyond city limits.

Ordoñez said enhanced proactive patrols, community outreach and supplemental funding such as public safety grants all contributed.

“The city’s smaller square-mile radius helps with visibility and response,” she said. “Even with limited staffing our department consistently maintained an average response time of under 2 minutes and 30 seconds for high-priority calls, which made a major difference in crime prevention and community safety. Monthly, on average, the team had between 400 to over 700 contacts with the public every month.”

While the SafeWise report may be a limited sample influenced by how cities report crime data, the three leaders concurred that a combination of strong community, training and implementation of technologies helped Anthony make gains in public safety. They also cited progress on capacities the report doesn’t measure, such as the opening of a local health clinic last summer and replacing aging water distribution systems.

“I’m very proud of what our department and community accomplished together,” Ordoñez said. “Crime is unpredictable and trends change but we must adapt to those changes and stay ahead of safety as much as possible.”

Algernon D’Ammassa is the Journal’s southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.