Nogales border wall by U.S. Customs and Border Protection / Flickr
The Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico, has publicly opposed a federal proposal to build a border barrier near Mount Cristo Rey, a historic religious site in Sunland Park, Doña Ana County, New Mexico, which is one of the several counties the diocese includes.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently closed a public comment period on the proposed project, which would add more than a mile of barrier south of the mountain, according to KTSM, an NBC affiliate in El Paso, Texas. El Paso and Sunland Park, which both lie along the Rio Grande and the border between the US and Mexico, are about 10 miles apart.
In its official response, submitted before the July 3 deadline, the diocese expressed concern that any construction near the mountain could jeopardize its long-standing role as a place of worship and pilgrimage.
“Mount Cristo Rey is a site of profound religious, cultural, and historical importance,” the diocese’s statement read. “For nearly a century, pilgrims have ascended Mount Cristo Rey in devotion and prayer, many of them making the trek annually.”
The diocese said that it has received repeated inquiries from federal agencies in recent months regarding potential access to Church-owned land around the mountain.
“The Diocese has taken, and continues to take, the position that a grant of entry onto land it owns for CBP purposes, whether temporary or permanent, would deter those pilgrims and migrants from exercising their religion as they have done for almost one hundred years,” the statement continued. “A place of hope, faith, and communion would become a place of fear, exclusion and division.”
The statement also noted that the communications from CBP lacked clarity and shifted in scope, raising questions about the intent and potential impact of the project.
The diocese further argued that any attempt to build a wall near or on the site could hinder public access and infringe upon religious freedom protections enshrined in the Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
While CBP has not yet confirmed a final decision on the proposed barrier segment, the diocese urged the agency — along with the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security — to exclude Mount Cristo Rey and its surrounding areas from all border construction plans.
