‘A monument for politics’ — Inside one diocese’s battle against a planned border wall
“Our point is that a wall is not necessary.”
The U.S. government’s attempt to build a section of border wall on a popular New Mexico pilgrimage site is being contested by the local diocese.
A diocesan official told The Pillar the wall would be a political monument to a policy he said is opposed to Catholic teaching, while a federal agent told The Pillar the area under discussion is a corridor for human trafficking and smuggling.
On May 7, the federal government filed a lawsuit against the Diocese of Las Cruces, which owns Mount Christo Rey, attempting to claim part of the land through eminent domain. With the land, the government intends to build a section of border wall to deter or prevent illegal immigration.
Mount Christo Rey, or Sierra de Cristo Rey, sits on the US-Mexico border and has long been the site for immigrants to cross the border illegally.
According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent speaking on background with The Pillar, the areas it is frequently used by the La Empresa Cartel for the group’s human smuggling operations, and the mountain was at one point “basically controlled by the cartel.”
For its part, the diocese told The Pillar that since 2021, it has successfully collaborated with the government to deter illegal immigration and these efforts have made a wall unnecessary.
Additionally, the diocese says the government’s offer for the land was well below fair market value, and $600,000 less than the federal government paid New Mexico for a smaller piece of property.
Deacon Jim Winder, chancellor of Las Cruces diocese, said that instead of a deterrent, the wall will act as a “political monument,” standing in stark contrast to the statue of Christ the King atop the mountain.
“The wall would be a monument to politics, it’s a monument to something that goes against the teachings of the Catholic faith,” Winder told The Pillar. “You might as well put up a sign that’s an advertisement for a porn shop next to the statue. The wall is the equivalent.”
For its part, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops explains a Catholic position which emphasizes the dignity of migrants and the right of nations to secure borders: “Nations have a right to regulate their borders and safeguard the communities within them and also an obligation to accommodate, to the extent they are able, those migrating in order to preserve human life,” the USCCB says.
A sacred site
Located near the border of Texas and New Mexico, Mount Christo Rey has long been a popular pilgrimage site for Catholics in both the Diocese of El Paso and the Diocese of Las Cruces.
In 1933, a local priest, Father Lourdes Costa, thought that this mountain — standing at the junction of Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico — would be a perfect site for a large statue of Christ.
He proposed the idea to Bishop A.J. Schuler of the Diocese of El Paso, as the Diocese of Las Cruces had not been founded yet. The Diocese of El Paso purchased 200 acres of land for the statue and a surrounding pilgrimage site.
After the purchase, a group of local Catholics traversed to the summit, erecting a small wooden cross. In 1939, a permanent, 29-foot marble statue of Christ was completed.
Today, pilgrims traverse a two-mile path up the north side of the mountain to reach the statue. Along the way, are shrines and grottos. At the top, is an altar where Mass is often celebrated.
Every year, on Good Friday and the Feast of Christ the King, hundreds of pilgrims make the trek to the top of the mountain to pray.
“There’s a lot of pilgrims that go up there, regularly visiting and praying at the different shrines and the statue of Christ the King,” said John Valdez, a volunteer for decades and frequent pilgrim to the site for the past 60 years. “It means a lot to a lot of people.”
Immigration problems
When the Diocese of Las Cruces was erected in 1982, it formally acquired the Mt. Christo Rey property.
With the property bordering Mexico, illegal immigration at the site has always been a problem, an official explained, and there has historically been limited infrastructure to support Border Patrol operations there.
Speaking on background, a Border Patrol agent told The Pillar that the site had become a major site for human smuggling over the years.
Before 2025, more than 8 million illegal immigrants passed through territory patrolled by the El Paso station, the agent said, and many came through the area near Mt. Christo Rey, as the rugged mountains provide ample hiding areas and terrain difficult for agents to navigate.
In October 2021, during the Biden administration, the U.S. government approached the Diocese of Las Cruces, asking permission to build a dirt road and install sensors along the south side of the property, to help immigration enforcement.
The diocese agreed, signing a Right of Entry and Survey Assessment which stipulated the government could build a road, install sensors and regularly patrol the area. The agreement would last for 18 months.
After a successful partnership, the license was renewed in September 2023 for an indefinite period.
Since 2025, the Border Patrol has doubled down on efforts in the area, adding even more patrols and sensors along the graded dirt road.
Winder and Valdez both said that the sensors and increased patrols along the road have significantly deterred illegal immigration and that very few illegal border crossings now occur on the property.
“Ten years or so ago, we’d be working up on the mountain and could see them (illegal immigrants) passing by like a parade,” Valdez said. “Now, we don’t see them as much, very rarely do we see anybody and if we do, it’s only one or two.”
The CBP agent acknowledged that illegal immigration has significantly slowed on the property, but said it continues to be a problem.
With the sensors and patrols, individuals attempting to cross the border are quickly detected and the Border Patrol quickly responds, Winder said.
“The area is so heavily patrolled, and there’s so many sensors that I don’t think a jackrabbit can make it through there without being detected and stopped.”
The existing security measures are effective, Winder said, and they negate the need for a border wall. He added that the proposed border wall would not be a particularly effective deterrent, as “any Mexican kid with a $25 cutting torch can get through.”
“Our point is that a wall is not necessary,” Winder said. “With these patrols and the sensors and all, people are not getting through the border there.”
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In September 2025, the Diocese of Las Cruces received a letter from the U.S. government stating the government’s intentions to build a wall and offering to purchase the land. The diocese did not respond to the government’s inquiry.
The government is seeking to acquire 250 feet of land, along a mile and a half stretch, that totals 14.259 acres of land.
The federal government sent a follow-up letter to the diocese in January 2026, again asking to purchase the land, stating that if the diocese did not agree to sell, then it would seize the land via eminent domain.
In the letter, viewed by The Pillar, the government offered to purchase the land for $183,071, which Winder said is well below the property’s actual value.
Around the same time, in March 2026, the government purchased 7.259 acres of land from the state of New Mexico for $798,500.
“It is a bit of an affront to us that the government made an offer for the land, but it’s one-tenth of what they offered to the state of New Mexico for some land that’s further away from town,” Winder said.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol told The Pillar that the planned wall is in accordance with President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14165, “Securing our Borders” and Proclamation 10142, “Declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border of the United States.”
The spokesperson added that at the site, Border Patrol intends to construct a “Smart Wall” which he said is a “steel bollard wall, along with roads, detection technology, cameras, lighting and in some cases waterborne barrier or a secondary wall.”
A steel bollard wall at the border between Texas and Mexico. Credit: JD Flynn/Pillar Media.
A report published by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol acknowledged about the site of the planned wall: “This natural landmark is an important site to indigenous tribes in the area and hosts several pilgrims who climb the mountain routinely as part of their religious practice.”
The planned mile-and-a-half, 30-foot wall will be located on the southern face of the mountain, the report said, and “CBP has determined that the barrier construction will have no adverse impact on the routine pilgrimages nor the historic and cultural significance of Mount Cristo Rey.”
While the wall is located close to the property, the CBP spokesperson said the wall will not impact pilgrims’ access to the site.
“Smart wall construction in this area is located within 250 feet of the international boundary, well south of the Mount Cristo Rey cross and access road,” the spokesperson said. “The cross is located a quarter mile or 1,300 to 1,400 feet north of the border. Access to the shrine will not be affected, as all attendees enter from the U.S. side.”
“Smart Wall construction will enhance safety for those using the grounds.”
The wall and the additional sensors and detection equipment, the Border Patrol agent said, helps slow illegal immigrants down and allows CBP to arrest them right at the border.
A monument or a wall?
Considering the diocese’s previously healthy relationship with the government, and the effectiveness of existing border security measures, Winder believes that a potential border wall would serve more as a clashing symbol than an immigration deterrent.
“This is not a church versus state thing. It’s about two different symbols,” Winder said. “One of them is the symbol of Christ, a symbol of unity. The other one is a political symbol, which is the wall.”
Statue of Christ on top of Mt. Christo Rey in New Mexico. Credit: Diocese of Las Cruces.
The federal government has asked for expedited condemnation, which if granted, would allow the government to take possession of the land before they pay for it.
A hearing regarding the government’s lawsuit and request for expedited condemnation is scheduled for July 28, with a potential trial date to be set later.
Winder said the diocese will defend itself by arguing that first, the wall is an affront to Catholic teaching, and second, that the government is in violation of the First Amendment, which stipulates that the government is required to take the “least intrusive approach” when it comes to infringing on a group’s religious practice.
The diocese believes that the government has already taken the least intrusive approach — with the installation of the road and sensors — and has been successful.
Thus, the wall, the diocese argues, is not necessary.
While its legal request has not yet been granted, the government has begun staging materials and construction equipment near the site to begin construction on the wall.
However, the diocese hopes that it will be struck down.
“Right now, they have something that’s working quite well. Ther are not immigrants going through there because they’ve got patrols and they’ve got sensors,” Winder said. “The wall is not needed.”
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