Border wall: Biden administration asks Supreme Court to suspend arguments

The Justice Department said Biden had ordered a “construction pause” so that the administration could undertake an assessment “of the legality of the financing and contracting methods used to build the wall.” The United States Civil Liberties Union, the Sierra Club and the Southern Border Communities Coalition last year asked the Supreme Court to block construction of the wall.

Just hours after starting his presidency, Biden immediately attacked one of his predecessor’s key legacies when he signed a proclamation calling for an end to construction of the border wall. The administration’s filing on Monday shows how Biden’s Justice Department is preparing to halt construction, as it reviews the actions of the former administration.

In a separate Supreme Court case, the Justice Department is asking to stay pleading in a Trump-era policy case requiring non-Mexican migrants to stay in Mexico until their next hearing in the United States. The Homeland Security Department recently halted enrollment in the program, marking a step towards its complete end. This case is scheduled for March 1. Thousands of migrants subject to the policy continue to wait in Mexico in dangerous and deplorable conditions.

Organizations challenging the so-called “Stay in Mexico” policy in the lawsuit include the Innovation Law Lab, as well as other immigrant rights groups.

The Biden administration is on the verge of reversing dozens of Trump administration policies. In the short term, Elizabeth Prelogar, Biden’s acting solicitor general, is expected to play a key role in handling a wave of potential reversals over issues such as immigration, healthcare and religion.

Biden is expected to sign more actions from the Immigration Directorate on Tuesday at the White House.

Abandonment of border wall land grabbing efforts

In a court document, filed Jan. 22, the Justice Department requested an extension of a land seizure case for “at least 60 days,” citing the inauguration day proclamation of Biden who is in part directing a review of funds embezzled for the construction of walls.

In another case, the Justice Department said it would dismiss a petition for immediate possession of land, according to Ricardo de Anda, an attorney for Guillermo Caldera, who lives in Laredo, Texas, and whose property was at risk. to be taken.

“We are encouraged that the court has taken judicial notice of the executive order signed by President Biden stopping construction of Trump’s border wall, ordering the government to notify the court and the parties of its intention to proceed with taking over Texas properties, “De Anda said in a statement. Two more cases are awaiting filing of similar motions, de Anda said.

Ricky Garza, an attorney for the Texas Civil Rights Project, a legal advocacy group representing landowners in land grab cases, said CNN landowners were in a “waiting pattern.”

“There have been moves towards a break and it’s positive,” Garza said. “What is needed now is for the administration to review and dismiss all of these cases.”

Democrat Representative Henry Cuellar of Texas, critic of Trump’s border wall, said last Thursday that the administration notified his office that the US Army Corps of Engineers was suspending real estate acquisitions in accordance with Biden’s executive order.

“Today I received a notification that, in accordance with President Biden’s executive order, real estate acquisition activities such as investigations and negotiations with landowners have been suspended in coordination with the Corps of Engineers of the US military, ”Cuellar said in a statement.

The Justice Department declined to comment.

The Army Corps of Engineers, which provides leadership and oversight of border projects, “has suspended work on all border infrastructure projects for DoD and DHS until further notice,” Raini Brunson said. , a spokesperson for the agency.

Dror Ladin, senior counsel for the National Security Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, welcomed the decision to delay Supreme Court arguments, but said more needed to be done.

“It’s a good start that the Biden administration isn’t rushing to defend Trump’s illegal wall in court, but it’s not enough to put the brakes on. Trump’s wall has devastated border communities, the environment and tribal sites, ”Ladin said. “It’s time for the Biden administration to stand up for border communities and make a commitment to mitigate environmental damage and tear down the wall.”

Trump has stepped up legal proceedings

The Trump administration has expedited filing over the past four years in its efforts to erect additional barriers on the southern border. At the heart of these cases were the landowners, some of whom supported the wall and others who criticized it.

Joseph Hein, a Laredo landowner whose property was being considered for building, described the past four years as being in a “state of limbo.”

“I was basically at the mercy of them giving me the information they wanted to give me, and basically the information they were giving me was nothing,” Hein said, referring to the Corps of Engineers of the army and customs and border protection.

Biden’s proclamation ended Trump’s declaration of national emergency, which allowed the previous administration to dip into Pentagon funds, and calls for a review of contracts.

Changes to the construction of the border walls under Biden thus far have also raised questions in the ongoing border wall cases. Shortly after the publication of Biden’s proclamation, Judge Haywood Gilliam ordered the parties in an ongoing trial against the Wall to provide an update by February 16.