SUNLAND PARK -- The gleaming white sculpture of Jesus Christ at the top of windswept Mount Cristo Rey towers over this tiny border town and can be seen for miles in Texas, New Mexico and Chihuahua.
Every year, thousands of pilgrims hike up to the 29-foot limestone figure of Jesus with outstretched arms. The Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces owns the property and considers it a holy site.
The federal government, in an eminent domain lawsuit, wants to seize about 14 acres of land at the foot of the mountain facing Mexico and offered the Diocese
$183,071.00 for the property.
The Trump administration says it needs to secure the border by extending a nearly 30-foot-high wall in the area. The land is now at the center of a legal battle over religious freedom vs border security.
The Diocese is fighting the “heavy-handed tactics,” used by the Trump administration to take the property said attorney William Powell, senior counsel with the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law. "The United States government's effort to condemn Diocesan land to build a border wall is an affront to religious liberty,” said Powell in an email statement to KTEP News.
In its response to the eminent domain lawsuit, the Diocese said taking the land is a violation of the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The Christ figure is a source of pride for the generations of families that have cared for the statue on the mountain.
“It’s a religious icon. It’s also a cultural icon. And it’s an artistic icon,” said Ruben Escandon with the Mount Cristo Rey Restoration Committee. The all-volunteer group relies on donations.
29-foot sculpture of Christ at the top.
The mountain is considered sacred by many in the region. The 29-foot limestone statue of Christ at the top was the idea of a local parish priest and the work of famed sculptor Urbici Soler. The monument that sits atop Mount Cristo Rey was completed in1940.
Now, at least 40,000 of the faithful make the more two mile hike up the winding path up the mountain to the Christ sculpture every year and another two miles back down. During the Good Friday pilgrimage, some people are barefoot or on their knees. Others carry their own wooden crosses.
The hike is an Easter tradition for Lulu Alvarado’s family. As she approached the top of Mount Cristo Rey, she looked down disapprovingly at the construction crews using heavy equipment to clear land to extend the border wall.
“It really shows the divide between people,” she said.
Many of those praying at the foot of the figure of Christ on top of the mountain say they find comfort, peace and a sense of unity from the view of two countries, and three states in the region.
Ramon Garcia, 73, makes the pilgrimage up Mount Cristo Rey to the Christ figure every year on Good Friday. “I give thanks for all my blessings.”
He said there is no need for a wall, and the Trump administration is “just stealing the land, land that belongs to us.”
April Fincher’s family moved to this area three years ago. During her first hike up the mountain with her 14-year-old daughter, she only had one question: “Can you still get all the way up? Ok, then build the wall.”
CBP said, “Access to the shrine will not be affected, as all attendees enter from the U.S. side,” according to a statement issued by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in response to media questions about the eminent domain lawsuit.
“The only individuals who could POSSIBLY be impacted by the border wall are illegal aliens attempting to illegally enter our country,” according to CBP. The agency has said the mountain is a well-worn smuggling route.
Currently, the mountain is heavily guarded by Border Patrol agents on horseback, helicopters and drones that fly over constantly from above. Ground sensors and cameras are prevalent in the area
In the lawsuit the federal government said it needs the property “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 court battle could take months, said legal experts familiar with the case.
Construction began in January with controlled explosions to clear land for the foundation of a border wall. Escandon said he understands the need for border enforcement but questions the way the federal government is carrying out the project.
“I think they’re doing it backwards and starting the construction and now they’re covering their behinds and saying now we need to take the property.”
