Diocese fights federal land seizure at Mount Cristo Rey pilgrimage site

The Diocese of Las Cruces is fighting a federal attempt to seize about 14 acres at the base of Mount Cristo Rey, arguing that the land is not just property but a holy site where border enforcement would cut into religious practice.

The dispute centers on Mount Cristo Rey in Sunland Park, New Mexico, a 4,675-foot peak on the New Mexico-Mexico border topped by a 29-foot limestone statue of Jesus Christ that dates to 1940. The diocese says as many as 40,000 pilgrims climb the mountain each year for Mass, a tradition tied to the Feast of Christ the King, with some walking barefoot and others on their knees.

The federal government filed its eminent-domain lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico on May 7, seeking to condemn the church-owned land and offering just compensation of $183,071. The Diocese of Las Cruces responded the next day, May 8, saying the seizure and any construction would substantially burden religious exercise under the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

According to the government’s plans, the land would be used for roads, fencing, vehicle barriers, security lighting, cameras, sensors and related border-security infrastructure. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has said it is working across the Southwest border to acquire land for a Smart Wall, a project that includes a steel bollard wall, roads, detection technology, cameras and lighting. The agency says it prefers voluntary acquisition but can refer cases to the Department of Justice for eminent domain if needed.

CBP first announced last summer that it intended to build a wall along the southern skirt of Mount Cristo Rey, which officials described at the time as a major human-smuggling infiltration site. The diocese, represented by lawyers from Mann Morrow and the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law, says a wall would obstruct pilgrimage routes and damage the site’s religious and cultural sanctity.

The fight has also stirred wider concern in Southern New Mexico, where opponents say new wall construction could harm the environment and increase immigrant deaths. Pilgrims have already voiced worry that blasting and construction near the mountain could disrupt Good Friday observances and the annual procession to the summit, turning a border-security project into a direct test of how far federal power can go before it collides with religious liberty.