ICAP represented the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville, Texas, in its high-profile opposition to the federal government’s efforts to seize Diocese-owned land for the construction of a border wall. The government’s original plan for Hidalgo County involved building a 18-foot steel bollard wall across Church property, which would have physically stranded the historic La Lomita Chapel—a sacred 19th-century missionary site—within an isolated “enforcement zone” between the wall and the Rio Grande. On behalf of the Diocese and Bishop Daniel E. Flores, ICAP argued that the project constituted a substantial burden on the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
The litigation and ICAP’s vigorous advocacy served as a catalyst for legislative action. In early 2019, following intense public outcry and the legal challenges raised in federal court, Congress passed an appropriations bill that specifically prohibited federal funding for border fencing on the land surrounding La Lomita Chapel. Through this representation, ICAP successfully defended the principle that the government’s power of eminent domain cannot be used to trample upon the religious mission and sacred spaces of faith communities.
