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The Trump administration is moving to seize more than a dozen acres of church-owned land surrounding Mount Cristo Rey, a Catholic pilgrimage site near the U.S.-Mexico border, as part of its efforts to expand the border wall and security infrastructure.
The dispute centers on land owned by the Diocese of Las Cruces at the base of Mount Cristo Rey in Sunland Park, New Mexico, home to a 29-foot statue of Jesus Christ and a pilgrimage site visited by tens of thousands of worshippers annually.
The federal government argues the property is needed for border security, while church officials contend the seizure would interfere with religious exercise at a sacred Catholic site.
The fight has drawn congressional attention, with Representative Veronica Escobar, a Texas Democrat, having introduced legislation last week that would block federal funds from being used to seize the land through eminent domain. Two border bishops have signaled their support on the matter.
Newsweek has reached out to the legal teams of both sides, along with the Diocese of Las Cruces for comment via email on Wednesday.
Why Does the Trump Administration Want the Land?
Immigration enforcement and border security have been central priorities of the Trump administration, with the White House saying that the border wall will be completed by next year. But Trump has also cultivated support among Christian voters and cast himself as a defender of religious liberty, making the fight over land surrounding a Catholic pilgrimage site an unusual intersection of those priorities.
In May, the federal government filed a condemnation lawsuit seeking approximately 14.259 acres at the base of Mount Cristo Rey, arguing the land would be used “to construct, install, operate, and maintain roads, fencing, vehicle barriers, security lighting, cameras, sensors, and related structures designed to help secure the United States/Mexico border within the state of New Mexico,” per court filings reviewed by Newsweek.
The land in question is owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces, which has argued in court that construction of a border wall near the pilgrimage site would obstruct religious activity and burden the free exercise of religion.
The area is split across several tracts, one that is about 11.82 acres, another that is 1.55 acres and a third that is 0.88 acres. Together, the tracts form a continuous strip of land along the border.
In court filings, the government cited federal eminent domain statutes 40 U.S.C. § 3113 and § 3114 as the basis for the proposed land acquisition.
“Under a statute called the Declaration of Taking Act, the federal government has taken title to the Diocese’s property while the condemnation proceedings play out. But the court has not authorized the government to come onto the property and begin constructing a border wall. The court has made clear that the Diocese will be heard on its religious liberty objections,” Jonathan Backer, attorney for the defendant and senior counsel at the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center, told Newsweek on Wednesday.
Backer added, “In this litigation, the federal government contends that it is able to exercise eminent domain in complete disregard of the protections afforded by the First Amendment and [Religious Freedom Restoration Act] RFRA. That is a stunning and legally untenable position.”
In opposition to the plaintiff’s motion, the defense argues “the Government’s proposed taking will substantially burden the free exercise of religion by the Diocese, its parishioners, and the other faithful who seek to commune with God on Diocesan property.”
In a recent July filing, the diocese’s defense wrote, “under the Government’s own standard, its proposed activity on Mount Cristo Rey constitutes a substantial burden. Through its exercise of eminent domain, the Government is coercing the Diocese, without its consent, to relinquish its sacred land for the construction of a border wall that is ‘a counter-sign to the teachings of the Catholic Church.’”
In the court documents, the government estimated the property’s value at approximately $183,071 and said it would deposit that amount with the court as compensation. The property lies in a rugged stretch of the border near El Paso and Sunland Park, where steep terrain has historically made border barrier construction more difficult.
In July 2025, Congress provided billions of dollars for barriers and other security measures along the border, and the federal government would use some of those funds for the property and construction.
What Is Eminent Domain?
Eminent domain is the government’s authority to take private property for public use, provided owners receive just compensation. The power has been used for projects from highways and utility infrastructure to border barrier construction.
The Supreme Court has considered several major eminent domain disputes over the years and has generally upheld broad government authority to take private property for public purposes.
The Mount Cristo Rey dispute is not the first clash involving the Trump administration’s border wall plans, eminent domain and a religious site. During Trump’s first term, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville fought federal efforts to build a border barrier near the historic La Lomita Chapel in South Texas, arguing the project would restrict access to the church and burden religious exercise. Congress later barred the use of appropriated funds for barrier construction through La Lomita Historical Park.
The Trump administration’s attempt to take the area sparked protests from locals and parishioners.
Religious Freedom Challenge
Mount Cristo Rey is a major religious and cultural site for Catholics across southern New Mexico and West Texas. The mountain is crowned by a 29‑foot limestone statue of Christ, built in 1940, and draws up to 40,000 pilgrims each year for the annual Cristo Rey feast, according to the diocese in court filings, which notes there are another pilgrimages as well.
Under RFRA, the government must show that its actions place the least possible burden on religious exercise while advancing a compelling interest.
The diocese has submitted declarations from several religious leaders backing its challenge to the proposed land seizure.
Among them is Right Reverend Michael Buerkel Hunn, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande, who said “the proposed construction of a border wall through or across this sacred landscape would cause irreversible harm to a historic religious site and to the communities that have long gathered there in prayer, pilgrimage, and public witness.”
Similar concerns were raised by Bishop Mark Seitz of the Roman Catholic Diocese of El Paso, who wrote in a declaration that “condemning land to build a border wall at Mount Cristo Rey, and radically changing its religious and spiritual character, is an extreme action that will also cause harm to the Diocese of El Paso and its parishioners by radically changing the religious pilgrimage site they have come to love since 1939.”
New Bill Would Block Seizure of Mount Cristo Rey
Escobar, whose district includes neighboring El Paso, introduced the Mount Cristo Rey Protection Act on July 16. The bill would prohibit the federal government from using eminent domain to acquire land at the site, bar federal funds from being used to pursue the ongoing lawsuit and block spending on border fencing and related security infrastructure on or near Mount Cristo Rey.
“Rather than working with border communities to advance effective border security, the Trump Administration continues to disregard the people, history, and culture that make our region special. I will continue to fight for its preservation,” Escobar said in a press release announcing the legislation.
Two border bishops have praised the legislation. Seitz said the site “has become for people in our region a holy site marking the unity of humanity and of faith that transcends borders. For the federal government to forcefully take this holy ground to build a tall barrier topped with razor wire would represent an overreach on the part of the government and create a sign that speaks, not of mutual respect and love, but of separation and rejection.”
Las Cruces Bishop Peter Baldacchino added, “In a world fractured by political, racial and economic divisions, Mount Cristo Rey stands out as both a powerful symbol of hope and peace and a literal pathway to unity. We are grateful for the actions of Rep. Escobar and other legislators in helping to preserve this important site for generations to come.”
The bill currently does not have any cosponsors.
As the litigation moves forward, the Trump administration continues to assert its authority to acquire the land through eminent domain, while church officials argue the effort would burden religious exercise and violate constitutional protections for religious freedom.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jenni Fink and Edward T. Cummins.
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