The fight over the border wall: These Texas landowners are in race against the clock

[douglas9]

AUSTIN — Ricardo de Anda is hoping to run out the clock on the Trump administration's plans to stretch the border barrier west through Laredo.

De Anda, a veteran South Texas lawyer, is part-owner of a 127-acre tract that connects his home to the Rio Grande and is being sought by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for construction of fencing separating Texas from Mexico. And he represents a collection of Laredo-area landowners whose land would be taken for the project.

"The strategy is to drag this out past the January inauguration date. (Democratic presidential nominee Joe) Biden has already promised he's not going to do any construction if he's the president," de Anda said. "And we can take that to the bank."

So far this year, nearly 90 condemnation lawsuits have been filed in South Texas on behalf of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security seeking to take property along the Rio Grande to build the border wall Donald Trump campaigned on in 2016 and has aggressively pushed for since assuming the presidency.

That represents about 60% of all of the lawsuits the administration has filed under the principle of eminent domain since Trump took office in January 2017.


https://www.caller.com/story/news/local/texas/state-bureau/2020/09/23/fight-over-trump-border-wall-texas-landowners-race-against-clock/5768653002/

[Crowman2009]

1. Since these walls aren't very stable...

...they could easily get some grappling hooks tied with ropes and attached to some longhorns. Then get them to stampede and that wall will collapse like a house of cards.