This bill authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to exchange approximately 160 acres of federal land near the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers in Artesia, New Mexico, for approximately 160 acres of non-federal land owned by Caza Ranches LLC.
Teresa Leger Fernandez
Representative
NM-3
This bill authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to exchange approximately 160 acres of Federal land near the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers in Artesia, New Mexico, for an equal value of approximately 160 acres of non-Federal land owned by Caza Ranches LLC. The exchange aims to consolidate property for the Centers' training mission, with all associated costs split equally between the parties. Upon completion, the acquired private land will become part of the Centers, and the transferred Federal land will be officially removed from the Centers' boundaries.
DHS Trades 160 Acres with Caza Ranches: FLETC Expands Training Grounds in New Mexico
This bill, officially the Caza Ranches LLC and Department of Homeland Security Land Exchange Act of 2025, is about a very specific land swap in Artesia, New Mexico. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), specifically the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC), is authorized to trade about 160 acres of government land (Parcel Number 4149096266460) for a comparable 160 acres owned by a private entity, Caza Ranches LLC (Parcel Number 4147097132132). Essentially, the government is moving its fence line to get a piece of property it wants for training.
The Swap Meet: Government Edition
Think of this as a highly formalized, 160-acre trade agreement. The Secretary of Homeland Security gets the green light to accept an offer from Caza Ranches to swap their land for the federal land. The bill makes a crucial assumption: the value of both 160-acre parcels is considered equal. This is standard in land exchanges, but it’s the detail that matters—no cash changes hands based on appraisal differences, just a straight trade. For the average taxpayer, the good news is that the costs associated with making this exchange happen, like surveys and paperwork, must be split exactly 50/50 between the Secretary and Caza Ranches LLC, as detailed in Section 2.
What Happens to the New Land
Once the swap is complete and DHS officially owns the new parcel, that land immediately becomes part of the FLETC facility. The bill explicitly states that this acquired property will be used to build structures that support the Centers’ training mission. So, this isn't just a boundary adjustment; it's a planned expansion for federal law enforcement training. Conversely, the 160 acres the government gives away will be removed from the official FLETC boundary, changing the map for good.
The Fine Print on Transparency
While this is a highly localized transaction, the bill includes a nod to public transparency. The Secretary must file a copy of the official map detailing the exchange, along with any related documents, at the Department of Homeland Security headquarters in New Mexico, making it available for public inspection. This ensures that the public can verify exactly which parcels were traded and that the process followed the agreed-upon terms. The bill also allows for minor boundary fixes or corrections to the map by mutual agreement, but if there’s a conflict, the map rules over any written description, which keeps the process clean and geographically precise.