Arizona County Rejects Border Security Funding in Protest of Trump

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An Arizona county’s supervisory board voted last week to reject more than $1 million in federal money to help protect the border.

The stated reason for this decision? The administration of President Donald Trump.

In a 3-2 vote that fell along party lines, the Pima County Board of Supervisors decided Tuesday not to accept the money, which adds up to roughly $1.4 million.

The money, part of the Operation Stonegarden grant, was supposed to be used to pay overtime for border agents, as well as to “buy equipment to coordinate efforts with federal agencies to improve border security,” according to The Arizona Daily Star.

The three Democrats on the board — Richard Elías, Sharon Bronson and Ramón Valadez — all voted to reject the money, though Republicans Steve Christy and Ally Miller both disagreed. – READ MORE

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A negative ruling from a federal judge in California could hold up the wall’s construction for years.

The Trump administration could be forced to re-examine its border wall plans and more actively engage with local, state and federal environmental agencies before construction begins, based on questions asked by a federal judge on Friday afternoon.

After two and half hours of arguments, U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel said he wanted additional written briefs before making a decision — likely next week.

This case comes as President Trump and Congress continue negotiations over immigration reform — a high-stakes political issue not addressed during the court hearing.  If Curiel ultimately decides the Department of Homeland Security does not have authority to waive several dozen laws to expedite wall construction, then that could raise a question: Why would the Trump administration legalize 1.8 million DACA recipients in exchange for $28 billion in wall funding if that money could not be spent in a timely manner? – READ MORE

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The federal judge that President Donald Trump once argued was too biased by his Mexican heritage to handle lawsuits against Trump University will now preside over a key legal challenge to Trump’s long-promised border wall.

Judge Gonzalo Curiel will hear arguments Friday over the main environmental lawsuit against the Trump administration’s plans to erect a wall along the US-Mexico border.

The plaintiffs, which include three separate parties whose suits have been consolidated into one, are arguing that the Trump administration is exceeding its authority in waiving environmental laws to build new border structures, including the eight wall prototypes that have already been erected near the Otay Mesa port of entry in San Diego, California.

They also argued that the wall construction could result in “irreparable harm” to wildlife and ecosystems along the border.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, is expected to argue that the Department of Homeland Security has the authority to waive the environmental laws, and that previous courts have upheld the department’s authority on border security. – READ MORE

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