Mount Cristo Rey dispute: Catholic diocese vs US border wall plan

The Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces, together with the El Paso bishop, is contesting a federal effort to seize about 14 acres of Mount Cristo Rey for a U.S. border wall. The government has deposited $183,071 as compensation, and a hearing on the seizure is set for 23 July. Bishops called the faithful to ascend the mountain on 28 June, emphasizing that the pilgrimage is a statement of religious freedom rather than opposition to government policy.

The diocese argues that the mountain, long a pilgrimage site for residents of southern New Mexico, Texas and Mexico, is a sacred cultural landmark, and that expropriation would threaten religious practice, cultural heritage, and constitutional protections of property and faith. The U.S. government maintains the wall is needed for national security, asserting that access to the shrine would remain open.