More than 1,000 Texas farmers are at risk of having their land seized by the federal government to build President Donald Trump’s long-promised border wall, Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, said Sunday.

In an interview on CBS News’ “Face The Nation,” Hurd alluded to the eminent domain strategy Trump suggested in 2016 to build the wall.

"In the great state of Texas, we care about a little thing called private property, and there's going to be over 1,000 ranchers and farmers potentially impacted if the government comes in and takes their land,” Hurd said

"[Government officials] say, 'Hey, we need this land. Here's what we're going to give you.' And they get to automatically take it. And then the rancher or the landowner has to go in and fight in court,” he added.

Hurd also lamented the national emergency that Trump declared being used as a "tool that the president needs in order to solve this problem," saying it puts the nation "almost in uncharted territory."

"Our government wasn't designed to operate by national emergency,” he said.

“Unfortunately, a Congress that existed before I was born usurped some of their power, gave some of their power away to the executive branch. Our government was designed for the most ultimate power, the power of the purse, to reside within Congress. And we shouldn't have an executive — I don't care if it's Republican or Democrat — that tries to get around Congress with this national emergency declaration."

Hurd said he’s willing to make sure “that Congress takes back some of this power as a coequal branch of government.”

“And I'm sure there will be a lot of conversations. We're almost in uncharted territory now because I think that based on my research and this is one of the first times that there has been a disagreement between the executive branch and Congress on what is indeed a national emergency,” he said.

Related Stories: