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As border wall construction moves ahead in Texas, judge rules feds can survey church's land
David Fahrenthold RetweetedAs border wall construction moves ahead in Texas, a judge rules the federal government can survey land belonging to the Diocese of Brownsville, setting up a potentially lengthy fight centered on religious beliefs.
Link to tweet
National
As border wall construction moves ahead in Texas, judge rules feds can survey church’s land
By Dudley Althaus and Katie Zezima
February 6 at 2:39 PM
MCALLEN, Tex. — A judge ruled Wednesday that the federal government can begin surveying land for a border wall on property that houses a small Texas church against the wishes of the local Roman Catholic Diocese, setting up a potentially lengthy fight as the church claims a wall would violate its religious freedom.
The ruling came as the Trump administration appears to be moving forward with plans to access private land for a wall it wants to build along the southern border with Mexico; Trump on Tuesday night during his State of the Union address reaffirmed his desire to build a wall to secure the border and more carefully control immigration.
Along this stretch of southern Texas, Customs and Border Protection now says it will take some residents to court to access their private land as the agency determines whether a border wall can be built on the properties. Protesters are camped in tents near a historic cemetery and a butterfly sanctuary that they argue will be disturbed should a wall be built in the area — and they are facing newly placed excavating equipment that appears poised to begin moving dirt as part of a congressionally approved section of the wall that received funding last year.
Landowners here say they are increasingly on edge as they receive letters indicating the government wants their land along the Rio Grande, and they are poised for eminent domain court battles that in the past have lasted a decade or more.
....
A letter from U.S. Customs and Border Protection that some residents in the McAllen area received last year, as the federal government sought access to properties along the southern border. (Sergio Flores for The Washington Post)
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Katie Zezima is a national correspondent covering drugs, guns, gambling and vice in America. She covered the 2016 election and the Obama White House for The Washington Post. Follow https://twitter.com/katiezez
As border wall construction moves ahead in Texas, judge rules feds can survey church’s land
By Dudley Althaus and Katie Zezima
February 6 at 2:39 PM
MCALLEN, Tex. — A judge ruled Wednesday that the federal government can begin surveying land for a border wall on property that houses a small Texas church against the wishes of the local Roman Catholic Diocese, setting up a potentially lengthy fight as the church claims a wall would violate its religious freedom.
The ruling came as the Trump administration appears to be moving forward with plans to access private land for a wall it wants to build along the southern border with Mexico; Trump on Tuesday night during his State of the Union address reaffirmed his desire to build a wall to secure the border and more carefully control immigration.
Along this stretch of southern Texas, Customs and Border Protection now says it will take some residents to court to access their private land as the agency determines whether a border wall can be built on the properties. Protesters are camped in tents near a historic cemetery and a butterfly sanctuary that they argue will be disturbed should a wall be built in the area — and they are facing newly placed excavating equipment that appears poised to begin moving dirt as part of a congressionally approved section of the wall that received funding last year.
Landowners here say they are increasingly on edge as they receive letters indicating the government wants their land along the Rio Grande, and they are poised for eminent domain court battles that in the past have lasted a decade or more.
....
A letter from U.S. Customs and Border Protection that some residents in the McAllen area received last year, as the federal government sought access to properties along the southern border. (Sergio Flores for The Washington Post)
....
Katie Zezima is a national correspondent covering drugs, guns, gambling and vice in America. She covered the 2016 election and the Obama White House for The Washington Post. Follow https://twitter.com/katiezez
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