Mount Cristo Rey

The federal government is seeking to seize land owned by the Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces near Mount Cristo Rey for border security, with a court filing requesting legal authority to condemn the property. A hearing for the land seizure has been postponed.

Congresswoman Veronica Escobar has introduced a bill to prevent the federal government from using eminent domain to acquire land at Mount Cristo Rey, a historic religious site in El Paso and southern New Mexico established in 1939.

A federal judge in New Mexico ruled the U.S. government can deposit money into a court to seize land from the Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces. The judge also allowed the Diocese to challenge the Trump administration’s decision to take the land.

The Trump administration is attempting to seize land around Mount Cristo Rey, a sacred Catholic pilgrimage site, to construct a border wall. A reporter visited the location to document the 30-foot Jesus statue atop the mountain and the proposed wall below.

The Trump administration is suing the Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces to seize church land for border wall construction, sparking resistance from local landowners. The lawsuit seeks to take about 14 acres of land using eminent domain. The Diocese is fighting back with a First Amendment defense.