US government wants Church land to build border wall

By CathNews New Zealand

May 15th, 2026

Statue at the top of Mount Christo Rey just outside of El Paso, Texas (Susan Barnum/Wikimedia Commons)

A US Catholic diocese is facing the potential seizure of some of its land by the nation’s government as part of the project to construct a border wall between the United States and Mexico. Source: EWTN News.

A civil action filed by the federal government in the US District Court for the District of New Mexico on May 7 names the Diocese of Las Cruces in the eminent domain request.

The filing was made at the request of the Department of Homeland Security. It says it seeks the land “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”.

The government said it would compensate the defendants in the case with just over US$183,000.

In a court filing on May 8, the diocese said the land seizure would “substantially burden” the religious freedom of both the diocese and “the other faithful who seek to commune with God on diocesan property”.

The disputed land parcel runs along the base of Mount Cristo Rey, the diocese said in its filing. Atop that mountain is a 29-foot statue of Christ, marking a shrine the diocese said is the “site of annual pilgrimages” that draw thousands to the mountain.

The diocese had earlier told the government that the land seizure would “constitute a significant infringement on religious freedom and the rights of worship” given the religious significance of the site. The filing asked the court to halt the proceedings until the First Amendment dispute could be fully adjudicated.

FULL STORY

Government moves to seize land from New Mexico diocese for border wall (By Daniel Payne/EWTN News)