The Trump Administration Keeps Awarding Border Wall Contracts but Doesn’t Own the Land to Build On ProPublica 12/23/2020
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LA GRULLA, Texas The federal government said it needed Ociel Mendoza s land on the outskirts of this tiny Texas town and it couldn t wait any longer.
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LA GRULLA, Texas The federal government said it needed Ociel Mendoza s land on the outskirts of this tiny Texas town and it couldn t wait any longer.
Each additional day of delay was costing the government $15,000 as contractors waited to begin construction on the border fence slated to go through Mendoza s ranch, the Department of Justice argued in court filings. By Nov. 24, the tab for the delay had reached nearly $1.6 million, the land acquisition manager for U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in an affidavit.
Meet Harris County s newest judges, the only Latinas to sit on a criminal bench
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Ana Martinez, 179th District Court, left, and Natalia Cornelio, 351st District Court, two incoming criminal district court judges in Harris County, pose for a portrait in the East End Monday, Nov. 23, 2020 in Houston. Martinez and Cornelio are the only two Latina district court judges on the bench, and just the second and third over a period of 15 years.Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
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Ana Martinez, 179th District Court, left, and Natalia Cornelio, 351st District Court, two incoming criminal district court judges in Harris County, pose for a portrait in the East End Monday, Nov. 23, 2020 in Houston. Martinez and Cornelio are the only two Latina district court judges on the bench, and just the second and third over a period of 15 years.Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
Federal government moves to seize part of Salineño wildlife preserve for border wall
3 months 1 week 4 days ago
Friday, December 18 2020
Dec 18, 2020
December 18, 2020 6:36 AM
December 18, 2020
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The federal government filed a land condemnation lawsuit Tuesday against part of a wildlife preserve in Salineño owned by the Valley Land Fund.
The U.S. Attorney s Office for the Southern District of Texas filed the lawsuit after the Valley Land Fund backed out of a deal to sell the property.
After taking the property, the federal government plans to build a wall through the area. The public purpose for which said property is taken is to construct, install, operate, and maintain roads, fencing, vehicle barriers, security lighting, cameras, sensors, and related structures designed to help secure the United States/Mexico border within the State of Texas, according to the lawsuit.