Border Wall Plans at New Mexico’s Mount Cristo Rey Raise Environmental Concerns

Environmental advocates warn that border wall construction on the rugged mountain could cause erosion and sever wildlife corridors. Customs and Border Protection says it is necessary to prevent border crossings.

EL PASO—U.S. Customs and Border Protection plans to build a 1.3-mile border barrier on Mount Cristo Rey, an iconic mountain rising above the Rio Grande and the neighboring cities of Juárez and El Paso.

Most of the mountain lies in Doña Ana County, New Mexico. Its southern flank is in Mexico, near the Anapra neighborhood of Juárez. CBP plans to build a 30-foot-high steel barrier alongside an existing patrol road and construct an additional one and a half miles of road. 

The new construction would close a gap in what is otherwise a nearly continuous stretch of border wall. Environmental advocates are raising concerns that the new border barrier could cause erosion, cut off wildlife corridors and cause lasting ecological damage to the mountain. 

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued waivers of federal laws on June 5 to ensure “expeditious construction” of border barriers at Mount Cristo Rey and six other locations. The waivers lift the requirements of laws including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act. CBP is seeking public comment until July 3 on the construction at Mount Cristo Rey. 

“The Mount Cristo Rey area is a major smuggling route,” said Landon Hutchens, CBP’s public information officer for West Texas and New Mexico. “The border barrier will discourage illegal border crossings.”

Border crossings in the El Paso-Sunland Park area, along with the rest of the border, have dropped precipitously in recent months. U.S. troops are currently deployed to the border. The Mount Cristo Rey area also falls under the National Defense Area established in Southern New Mexico and West Texas.

Barrier Would Cross Mountain With Religious, Cultural Heritage

Mount Cristo Rey has long drawn the religiously faithful for biannual pilgrimages. People travel from across Texas, New Mexico and Northern Mexico to walk past the Stations of the Cross, which depict the story of Jesus’ crucifixion, to the mountain’s pinnacle. At the top, a 29-foot-limestone monument of Jesus Christ looks out over panoramic views of three states and two countries. Mountain bikers and runners also use the winding trail throughout the year. 

From the Mexico side of the mountain, migrants trek through the inhospitable desert terrain to attempt to enter the United States. Border Patrol keeps watch from their white and green trucks, and occasionally helicopters pass overhead, in pursuit of undocumented border crossers. Since 2022, the number of deaths of border crossers in the Sunland Park area has hit all-time highs.

The Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces owns the New Mexico side of the mountain. CBP’s Hutchens said he could not comment on any potential easements for construction. Inside Climate News has contacted the diocese for comment.

The Mount Cristo Rey Restoration Committee organizes events on the mountain. Ruben Escandon, a member of the committee, said he only learned about CBP’s announcement this week. Escandon supports construction of the barrier, which he says would help protect the historic monument. 

Existing border fencing in other parts of the region already limits wildlife movement. The new wall at Mount Cristo Rey would have four-inch gaps between the steel bollards, which would prevent larger animals from passing through.

Environmental advocates including Ray Aguilar have called for a biological corridor between the Sierra de Juárez mountains in Juárez and the Franklin Mountains in El Paso.

“Putting in a physical barrier will disconnect biological processes,” he said. “The Sierra de Juárez is going to be completely isolated from the exchange of species.”

Rick LoBello of El Paso said that a wall on Mount Cristo Rey could impact wildlife, including javelina, deer and coyotes. LoBello is a board member of the Texas Lobo Coalition that aims to reintroduce the Mexican wolf to Texas. 

In 2017, Mexican scientists tracked an endangered Mexican wolf that traveled north from Chihuahua into New Mexico and reentered Mexico at Mount Cristo Rey, LoBello said. 

“If Mexican wolves were ever to try and come here again they would not be able to make it through,” he said. “The goal of the Mexican wolf recovery program is for animals to be able to go back and forth to maintain the highest possible genetic diversity.”

Managing water flows has been a challenge in other sections of the border wall. Border fencing can essentially serve as a grate that catches debris and blocks water, and monsoon floods have damaged border fences in Arizona, requiring costly repairs.

At Mount Cristo Rey, monsoon rains flow down the steep slopes to reach the Rio Grande. 

Manually-operated flood gates between eight to 10 feet wide will be installed in the fence to manage water flows, according to CBP. These gates would be opened during the summer monsoon to allow water to pass through (which has led to false claims on other parts of the border that the gates were open during the Biden administration, but not during Trump’s first term). Concrete or block walls, roadside ditches and earth retaining systems may also be necessary to prevent flooding and erosion.

CBP’s Hutchens said that he could not comment on “hypotheticals” like flooding but said there are already flood gates in some sections of the wall near Juárez’s Anapra neighborhood.

Hutchens declined to comment on the environmental waivers and referred to the Department of Homeland Security’s statements. When granting the waiver, the agency said they were “critical steps to secure the southern border and reinforce our commitment to border security.”

Erick Meza, the Arizona-based Borderlands Coordinator for the Sierra Club, said that border wall construction in mountainous, steep areas can lead to soil erosion and compaction. In addition to the barrier itself, Meza said roads and staging areas would create “permanent scars on the mountain.” Based on his experience documenting border wall construction in the southwest, he said that CBP does not consider itself responsible for restoring that damage. 

The environmental waivers give the agency “free reign to do whatever they want in regards to the environment,” Meza said.

Cover photo:  El Paso, Texas (left) and Juárez, Mexico (right) are seen from Mount Cristo Rey in Sunland Park, N.M. Credit: Justin Hamel