Bill would ban eminent domain for border wall

Madlin Mekelburg , Madlin Mekelburg | El Paso Times

Show Caption Hide Caption Border walls in the Borderland Border fences and bollard walls divide the El Paso and Juárez areas.

AUSTIN — Two Democratic congressmen on Wednesday announced plans to introduce a bill that would prevent the federal government from seizing private property to build President Donald Trump's proposed border wall.

U.S. Reps. Beto O'Rourke, D-Texas, and Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, said they expect to introduce their legislation — called the Protecting the Property Rights of Border Landowners Act — in the House next week.

O'Rourke said the wall, which could cost between $20 billion and $25 billion, would place an additional burden on Texas property owners because because "that wall will be built not on the international boundary line between the United States and Mexico. It will be built in the U.S. and much of it will be on U.S. property owners’ land."

"We do not need a 2,000 mile, 30-foot high wall separating us from Mexico," O'Rourke said, adding that it would not improve safety or deter people looking to enter the country.

Trump's pledge to build a "big, beautiful wall" along the southernmost border of the United States during his presidential campaign angered border communities and many Texas lawmakers. Some called it an "un-American symbol of hatred."

More: The Wall

If the wall were constructed along the entire 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border, it would require seizure of nearly 5,000 parcels of property, according to a USA TODAY Network investigation.

O'Rourke and Gallego's proposal amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General from using "eminent domain to acquire land for the purpose of constructing a wall, or other physical barrier, along the international border between the United States and Mexico, and for other purposes."

O'Rourke said the Immigration and Nationality Act, which codify's much of the nation's immigration policy, works as a vehicle for the legislation because it's, "where Congress places the power for the federal government to use eminent domain in the first place."

In Texas, where most land is privately-owned, the federal government would have to rely on eminent domain to gain access to land along the border — a tool the government can use to seize private property while compensating the landowner.

More: Border homes, and the wall that would tear them apart

About 650 miles of the border currently has fencing, half of which is designed to stop vehicles, not people, from crossing. Large swaths of land in Texas have no constructed or physical barriers along the border, including areas where no major cities lie on either side.

When construction started on the existing fencing in 2006, more than 300 condemnation cases were brought by federal officials against private landowners — 85 of which have yet to be settled.

Gallego said eminent domain should only be used when it benefits “the common good.”

“This border wall is basically a monument to Trump’s ego and ignorance,” Gallego said. “This is just to fulfill a campaign promise that was dumb to begin with, is still dumb and will only create dumb outcomes when it comes to security.”

The announcement of the proposal came on the heels of a debate in the House Committee on Homeland Security over a bill from a different Texas congressman that would allocate $10 billion for border security infrastructure.

“We must have physical barriers—including a wall where necessary and fencing when appropriate, the right technology, and more personnel in place to enforce our laws and detain those attempting to enter illegally,” U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, the Republican chairman of the committee and author of the legislation, said in a statement.

McCaul's bill calls for a combination of walls and fences on segments of the border where “practical and effective,” and includes money for technological improvements and increased security personnel.

During Wednesday's hearing, many members of the committee argued that the bill would lead to an increased use of eminent domain, which O'Rourke and Gallego hope to stop.

Gallego acknowledged that their proposal would be challenging to pass without support from Republicans, but said if a bill to enact a wall were to move forward, the proposal could potentially be attached as an amendment.

More: Texas Sen. Cruz touts border wall during El Paso visit

Madlin Mekelburg is an reporter with the USA Today Austin Bureau; she may be reached at 512-479-6606; mmekelburg@elpasotimes.com; @madlinmek on Twitter.