We calculate the current contributed by ions trapped in the vicinity of a magnetic X line. The X line is formed from the superposition of a dipole and a uniform, antiparallel magnetic field. The system (Dungey's open model for the magnetosphere) has an electric field with equipotential magnetic field lines and with an asymptoic behavior such that a great distance the electric field is uniform in the dawn-to-dusk direction. In the magnetic neutral region E is directed along the X line toward dusk. Ions incident within about one gyrolength from the X line are captured and accelerated along the X line to large kinetic energies by the electric field. Most ions escape from the neutral region by Speiser's ejection mechanism into spiral orbits along magnetic field lines. The neutral region ion current is azimuthal and varies very nearly as cos ϕ on the dayside as predicted by Alfven, where ϕ is the GSM longitude, but is negligible on the nightside in this zero-order calculation. Ion energization rates and escaping pitch angle distributions are estimated. The effect of the neutral region current is to extend the magnetic neutral line into a neurtal sheet in the north-south direction. This leads to a positive feedback mechanism whereby the greater vertical extent of the neutral region enhances ion capture, ensuring a still larger current. Thus a magnetopauselike structure will be rapidly formed for even very small incident plasma densities.