A New Mexico diocese is citing a breach of religious freedom protections as it pushes back against the Trump Administration’s efforts to seize land from a pilgrimage site to build a portion of a border wall. Source: Catholic Review.
The Diocese of Las Cruces filed a response on May 8 to a US government lawsuit claiming eminent domain – or government power to seize private property for public use, with “just compensation” – over about 6 hectares that include Mount Cristo Rey in Sunland Park.
The 1425 metre peak, capped by a 9-metre limestone statue of Jesus Christ, has been a place of prayer for close to a century.
Each year, thousands trek up the rugged path to the image, which depicts a robed Christ with arms stretched out against the cross, overlooking the El Paso, Texas, and southern New Mexico landscapes.
According to court documents, the Department of Justice has sought for months to access the mountain, which sits on land owned by the diocese, to construct a portion of a border wall. The move is part of the Trump Administration’s sweeping crackdown on unauthorised immigration.
On May 7, the government filed suit in the US District Court for the District of New Mexico against the diocese and the treasurer of Doña Ana County, New Mexico, to take possession of the land.
In exchange, the legally required just compensation, determined by the fair market value of the property, would be $US183,071 ($252,000), according to the government’s filing.
A spokesperson for US Customs and Border Protection told OSV News in a May 12 email the agency “is working across the Southwest border to acquire land necessary for the construction of Smart Wall, to include a steel bollard wall, along with roads, detection technology, cameras, and lighting”.
“It is always CBP’s preference to obtain real estate interests voluntarily,” said the CBP spokesperson. “However, if CBP is unable to acquire the necessary access voluntarily within a reasonable timeframe, CBP refers the matter to the Department of Justice to acquire any necessary property interest(s) through eminent domain.”
But the federal government’s attempted seizure “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,” said the May 8 response filed by the Las Cruces Diocese.
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New Mexico diocese fights Trump push to seize pilgrimage site for border wall (By Gina Christian, OSV News via Catholic Review)
