President Donald Trump’s administration is seeking to seize seven acres of state trust land along the U.S.-Mexico border in New Mexico, KOB 4 reports. The New Mexico State Land Office said the White House informed it of plans to take control of the area after state officials rejected an earlier federal offer to buy the property. The move could set up a legal confrontation between state and federal authorities.
Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard called the planned seizure a “historic overreach” and said it follows years of unauthorized use of state trust land in Luna and Doña Ana counties. She warned of the impact on public school funding, which relies in part on revenue from trust lands. Her office is exploring all forms of recourse to resist the federal action, she told KOB 4.
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Garcia Richard is not the first land commissioner to clash with Washington over border projects. In 2018, during Trump’s first term, her predecessor, Aubrey Dunn, planted a “no trespassing” sign after federal agents built a road and fencing without securing a right-of-way. Both commissioners raised alarms with the Department of Homeland Security after the federal government set up steel bollards, fencing, roads and equipment depots on trust lands without proper clearance.
The White House has not publicly detailed the legal basis or timeline for the planned seizure.
About This Story
Daily Reports is Brant.One’s news roundup. Each day we gather the New Mexico stories worth knowing from newsrooms across the state, sum them up and point you to the source. This one comes from KOB 4’s reporting, and their original story has the interviews and full details.
Editor’s note: Updated Oct. 31, 2026. This story is now part of Daily Reports, our New Mexico news roundup, and was revised to credit KOB 4’s original reporting. Learn how Daily Reports works in our editorial standards.
