SANTA TERESA, NEW MEXICO (KFOX14/CBS4) — The Trump administration is moving to seize seven acres of New Mexico trust land along the U.S.-Mexico border after the state refused to sell it.
According to the New Mexico Land Office, the White House intends to seize land located near the Santa Teresa Port of Entry to build Trump’s border wall. The land was originally granted to the state by the federal government in 1898 to earn money for schools.
The move comes after the Trump administration previously offered to buy the land in 2018, but the state denied the request.
Since then, the Trump administration has continued to be in correspondence with the New Mexico Land Office over the land, with New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard and previous Republican Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn sending multiple letters asking CBP to “stop its illegal trespass on state lands.”
In a March correspondence offer letter to purchase, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection offered to buy the property for nearly $798,000, adding that if both parties cannot reach an agreement, then the land will be condemned.
According to the New Mexico Land Office, the White House then informed them it intended to file condemnation paperwork last Friday to take possession of the land.
In response, New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard condemned the administration’s move, accusing it of overreach, and said taking the land could cost New Mexico schoolchildren revenue generated by that trust land.
Garcia Richard released the following statement, adding that the state now plans to review its legal options.
“I refuse to allow Donald Trump and his bullies to use state land to continue tearing children away from their families. Countless news reports have made it clear that the Trump administration’s border and immigration policies are deliberately cruel and intended to instill terror. Doing business with these thugs was simply not an option. Unsurprisingly, the President threw a temper tantrum when he couldn’t automatically get his way and is now going to forcibly take our state land and deny our school kids the revenue that comes from it. This is historic overreach by the Trump administration. It’s my duty as Land Commissioner to protect our lands from improper uses, and that is what I will always do. I do not take this brazen seizure of New Mexico’s lands lightly, and I have instructed my team to review all forms of recourse that may be available to us to fight this,” Garcia Richard said.
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