"The Trump administration is seeking to use eminent domain to take about 14 acres of land from the Catholic Church in Dona Ana County, New Mexico. Officials suggest that just compensation for the land is $183,071, according to the legal complaint."
"“The mountaintop shrine is the site of annual pilgrimages. On the feast day of Christ the King each fall, as many as 40,000 faithful climb Mount Cristo Rey to 'marvel at the beauty of the monument and the view offered from the summit' and to participate in a mass,” attorneys for the Diocese wrote in a response."
"The Diocese is trying to keep the land by using a First Amendment defense, for the right to religious expression, as well as a Religious Freedom Restoration Act defense. The big picture: Pushback from local landowners has delayed some border wall construction and even removed some sections of physical wall in national and state parks in West Texas."
"But the Trump administration has suggested the landowners have almost no choice to ultimately avoid construction. Letters to private landowners asking for access to private property say that if construction isn't voluntarily allowed that the land could be taken through eminent domain."
The Trump administration, through the Department of Homeland Security, has initiated a lawsuit seeking to use eminent domain to take about 14 acres of land from the Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces in Dona Ana County, New Mexico. Officials estimate just compensation at $183,071. The Diocese argues the mountaintop shrine is used for annual pilgrimages, including large fall climbs and masses, and it seeks to keep the land using First Amendment and Religious Freedom Restoration Act defenses. Local landowner resistance has previously delayed border wall construction and led to removal of some wall sections in parks in West Texas. The administration has indicated landowners may have little choice if access is not granted voluntarily.
Read at Axios
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