My readings seem to indicate Laredo will be a tough sell. Very little fencing there now and when the Wall gets built human traffic will stop or be slowed drastically. Many deeds to be signed over yet. But methinks President Trump will move quickly. He is after all, a builder.
“My readings seem to indicate Laredo will be a tough sell.”
Laredo is the biggest city on the border, without significant barrier. When the neighboring Rio Grande Valley gets buttoned up by this FY 2019 construction program, the huge traffic flows will naturally shift to Laredo.
Laredo is the least diverse city in the USA - over 95% Hispanic. The Congressman from Laredo, Henry Cuellar, is the driving force in inserting poison pills and loopholes to prevent compete border barriers in the region, like the exemptions in the Rio Grande Valley (Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge, Bentsen State Park, La Lomita Chapel and the National Butterfly Center).
For the coming budget, he is seeking to insert more landmines, protecting “grave sites”, which can be a gray area requiring long delays, and be subject to fraud and nuisance lawsuits by Leftist front groups.
There has been a long dance with Laredo about barrier - the City wants a big waterfront development as a kick back to sweeten the deal. Local politicians must give lip service to opposing the barrier, to pander to local opinion, and to the powerful Mexican criminal cartels, who are so intertwined with the lives in their communities (including their own).
The real bottom line with condemnations under eminent domain though, is that the Government can take the land and do what they want in 24 hours. The lengthy lawsuits are just to settle the price of the compensation.
The Left seeks to intimidate officials into inaction, by threatening them personally with civil lawsuits (forum shopped to some Party hack judge in a rigged set up). A Presidential pardon could insulate them from potential personal liability.
The time to pull the trigger on condemnations in the Rio Grande Valley is now at hand. The contracts should be dropping like rain there over the next many weeks (1-3 months). The responsible officials must now gird their loins, and sign their names on the orders.
The court can grant “immediate use and possession” while the eminent domain cases will be heard at a later time.