Federal judge allows Trump administration to deposit funds in Catholic diocese land seizure case

A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration may deposit compensation funds in court as it proceeds with an eminent domain effort to acquire more than 14 acres of land owned by the Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico, at the base of Mount Cristo Rey, a prominent religious site near the U.S.-Mexico border. 

In a June 15 order cited by NBC affiliate KOB 4, Chief U.S. District Judge Kenneth Gonzales approved the government’s request to place $183,071 into the court registry. The deposit moves the condemnation process forward while the underlying dispute continues. Gonzales said allowing the deposit would not prevent the diocese from continuing to challenge the taking. 

The disputed land lies in Sunland Park, New Mexico, at the base of Mount Cristo Rey, a 4,675-foot peak capped by a 29-foot limestone statue of Jesus Christ at its summit. The site draws thousands of pilgrims annually, with visitors climbing the mountain from the surrounding El Paso, Las Cruces, and Ciudad Juárez region. 

The government is seeking to acquire the land through eminent domain to install fencing, cameras, roads, vehicle barriers, sensors, security lighting, and related structures as part of its border security efforts. 

The Trump administration has argued that the area is a high-traffic route for human smuggling and that closing the gap is necessary to stop illegal border crossings. According to the Texas Tribune, areas near the southern New Mexico border corridor have also seen a sharp increase in migrant deaths in recent years. The Department of Homeland Security has maintained that the project will not disrupt pilgrimage access to the site, as Zeale News previously reported. 

The diocese has opposed the administration’s efforts, arguing in court documents that the land seizure violates the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, as Zeale News previously reported. In a May 8 court filing, the diocese argued that the project would damage the site’s “religious and cultural sanctity, obstruct pilgrimage routes, and transfer sacred space into a symbol of division.”

In a June 19 opposition response, the diocese asked the court to block any immediate government possession or construction. Attorneys argued that rushed action, driven by existing construction contracts, would prejudice the diocese’s ability to fully litigate its claims. 

“The Government seeks an order of immediate possession on an expedited basis,” the diocese said in its response. “The Government’s only justification for its rush is that it has already contracted with construction companies to deface Mount Cristo Rey — a holy site to Catholics and other people of faith in the borderland region — so that it can begin constructing a border wall that very likely will damage or restrict access to this sacred space and dilute the religious experience of visitors to the mountain.”

A hearing in the case is scheduled for July 23.