ZENIT News / El Paso, Texas, 06.01. 2026 – The Trump Administration sued the Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces, Texas, on May 13, seeking to expropriate 5.6 hectares of land located on the border with Mexico, stating that it «made its best efforts to negotiate» the purchase of the land.
The Department of Homeland Security indicates in the lawsuit that it attempted to purchase the property before going to court. The stated reason is the need to install barriers and other systems on the land, to «protect the border with Mexico.” According to the document, the government offered US$183,000 to the Diocese in exchange for the land near Christ the King Hill, crowned with a statue of Jesus and a pilgrimage site for thousands of faithful. From its summit, one can see Ciudad Juárez, El Paso, and Sunland Park.
The Diocese alleges that the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects religious freedom, is being violated, and has opposed the expropriation of its land. The Diocese’s lawyers stated that «the expropriation proposed by the government will severely affect the religious freedom of the Diocese, its parishioners, and other believers who seek to draw closer to God on church land.»
Veronica Escobar, a Democratic congresswoman representing a district near the disputed land, criticized the lawsuit in a statement and accused the Government of ignoring the cultural significance of Cristo Rey Hill with its 8.8-meter-tall limestone sculpture: «Confiscating this community property to build a border wall reflects the Trump Administration’s blatant disregard for what communities like ours value.»
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