Texas homeowners sue Trump for border wall plans that'll ruin their picturesque walks and fishing spots
Residents in Starr County, in southern Texas, are being hauled to court to face off with high-powered administration lawyers who have filed eminent domain lawsuits.
Eminent domain cases are used to force landowners to sell private property for public use, even if the owner does not want to sell.
Alejo Clarke, who has lived in the county for 58 years, told The Wall Street Journal he is fighting back against the order.
The Trump administration is seeking one acre of his land in order to erect the 18 foot wall.
Trump was elected on a campaign promise to make America safer by securing the borders and conducting mass deportations. A spokesperson for the administration noted a border wall is 'the most safe and efficient way possible.'
But Clarke claims doing so would cut him off from expansive plots of land where he has fished and hunted his entire life.
'I'm not gonna beat Trump - you know it and I know it,' he said. 'But if someone is going to kick your butt, are you just going to lie down?'
Clarke maintained he has not noticed any security problems on his property, and said the billions of dollars the government has allocated to building the wall would be better spent helping farmers in the region bounce back from a water shortage.
He claimed the government has offered just $3,000 in compensation for the land it plans to take.
Clarke tried to fight a similar plan from the Trump administration during the first term in court by himself, but said that with only a seventh-grade education, he was out of his depth.
Biden returned the land to him, but it's now once again at risk. He has hired a lawyer to help him fight the eminent domain lawsuit, but will struggle to afford the associated costs, he said.
'This is the piece they want to take out of me,' he said. 'My entrance y todo.'
Raquel Oliva has found herself in a similar situation, fighting to keep land which has been in her family since 1798, growing crops of cotton, hay and tomatoes.
The government filed proceedings in February to take over less than three acres of the family's land to construct a portion of the wall.
But Oliva said the government's use of three acres would in turn block off access to more than 100 acres where her family has hunted, farmed and operated a gas well.
The 75-year-old used AI to help her draft an objection letter to the government, arguing the wall would be detrimental to her family's work.
She has requested a 16-foot access gate, an irrigation pipeline and more compensation.
'No one has a problem stopping illegal immigration or drugs, but we live on the border - it's always been like this,' Oliva said.
'Now it feels like an invasion of the government on us.'
Since returning to power, the government has filed dozens of eminent domain lawsuits in Texas as the administration seeks to deliver on Trump's promise of securing US borders.
These cases are often complex because they involve small patches of land with generations of owners and poorly documented titles.
Some of the cases list upwards of 100 defendants who have ownership claims over tiny pockets of land, while others list 'unknown heirs' of late former owners.
But Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said completion of the border wall is crucial to the government's policy and national security.
' Successful mass deportations mean nothing if we don't control the border and keep future illegal aliens out,' she recently wrote in a New York Post opinion column.
'That's why the BBB legislation also funds hundreds of miles of new border wall and water-based barriers in the Rio Grande, which will permanently secure the border for decades.'
Trump is also ramping up a hiring spree for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The administration has carried out 239,000 deportations so far this year, according to data published by The Washington Post last lmonth.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
2 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Trump wants National Guard to tackle crime in DC after violent attack on 'Big Balls'
President Trump vowed to 'federalize' Washington and send in the National Guard on Wednesday to crush violent crime in the nation's capital, citing the brutal assault of a young pro-Trump staffer known by the nickname 'Big Balls' as a breaking point. During a press conference Trump confirmed he is actively considering seizing control of DC law enforcement - a drastic step that would override local government authority and place the capital's policing under federal command. 'We're considering it because the crime is ridiculous,' Trump told reporters. 'We have a capital that's very unsafe. You know, we just almost lost a young man, beautiful, handsome guy that got the hell knocked out of him the night before last. I'm going to call him now.' The young man Trump referenced is Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old government worker affectionately dubbed 'Big Balls' by his colleagues. Coristine was violently beaten during an attempted carjacking near Dupont Circle around 3am Sunday, while defending his girlfriend from a group of teenage assailants. Two 15-year-olds have since been arrested in connection with the attack, which left Coristine hospitalized with a concussion and facial injuries. The case has quickly become the focus for Trump's broader campaign to dismantle what he calls ' Democrat chaos' in the capital. 'There's too much of it,' Trump said. 'We're going to do something about it… and that includes bringing in the National Guard - maybe very quickly.' Trump, who returned to the White House for a second term pledging to 'crush the deep state' and restore 'law and order,' has repeatedly portrayed Washington, DC, as a lawless zone of crime and dysfunction. 'We want to have a great, safe capital - and we're going to have it,' he said. 'That includes cleanliness, it includes other things… graffiti, roads that are in bad shape, medians that are falling down. We're going to beautify the city.' Asked by a reporter whether he supported overturning the DC Home Rule Act, which grants the city limited self-governance, Trump confirmed his legal team was 'already studying it.' 'We have to run DC,' he declared. 'This has to be the best-run place in the country, not the worst-run place in the country. And it has so much potential.' The remarks come just days after Trump posted an image of Coristine with blood running down his face, writing on Truth Social that D.C. crime was 'out of control' and that teenage criminals were 'randomly attacking, mugging, maiming, and shooting innocent citizens.' 'They are not afraid of law enforcement because they know nothing ever happens to them, but it's going to happen now!' Trump warned. Coristine, who became known as 'Big Balls' for his outspoken fearlessness during late-night brainstorming sessions with Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has become an unexpected symbol of the administration's push to remake the capital. 'My friend Big Balls is a hero,' wrote close friend Marko Elez on X, sharing a photo of Coristine after the assault. 'He protected a young woman from an attempted carjacking by 8 thugs near Dupont Circle. 'Violence like this in the heart of DC is completely unacceptable,' Elez added. Even Elon Musk, under whom Coristine once worked as part of DOGE's original design team weighed in online. 'A Doge team member saw what was happening, ran to defend her and was severely beaten to the point of concussion, but he saved her,' Musk wrote. 'It is time to federalize DC.' Coristine, whose boyish face and Ivy League pedigree belied his MAGA bulldog persona, previously appeared in a Fox News segment highlighting his work to cut federal waste. But now his injuries, sustained in what police say was an attempted robbery by a group of teenagers, have made him the face of Trump's federal crime crackdown. While the Metropolitan Police Department confirmed it arrested two teens from Maryland in connection with the attack, but DC officials have been tight-lipped about further details. A spokesperson for the US Attorney's Office declined to confirm additional charges, citing an active investigation. Attorney General Brian Schwalb addressed the outrage in a statement to The Daily Mail. 'No one who lives in, works in, or visits DC should experience this. It is horrific and disturbing… When MPD brings us cases with sufficient evidence of juveniles who have broken the law and hurt people, we will prosecute them and ensure they face consequences.' But that's not good enough for Trump, or Jeanine Pirro, his newly appointed U.S. Attorney for the District. 'Our job is to get guns off the street, drugs off the street, and take care of those individuals that are threatening and carjacking other people,' Pirro said in a video message from the White House. 'And that's just what we're going to do. If you don't buy into it, you're going to have to deal with us.' The episode has reignited long-simmering Republican calls to strip Washington, D.C., of its autonomy, or at least curtail it dramatically. Trump allies in Congress have already proposed legislation to repeal home rule and bring the capital under full federal control. That effort is certain to face resistance from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who h as not commented publicly on Coristine's assault but has in the past fiercely defended the city's right to govern itself. While violent crime in the capital is reportedly down more than 25% from this time last year, carjackings and juvenile involvement in violent incidents remain stubbornly high. Just last year, a 14-year-old was charged with the killing of a Lyft driver in another high-profile carjacking. 'The rate of crime, the rate of muggings, killings, and everything else - we're not going to let it continue,' Trump asserted. 'You're going to be safe walking down streets. You're not going to get mugged.'
Reuters
2 minutes ago
- Reuters
Dollar holds losses on US economy concerns, Fed appointments
TOKYO, Aug 7 (Reuters) - The dollar remained lower against major peers on Thursday, as expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts grew and concerns swirled about partisanship creeping into key U.S. institutions. Initial jobless claims in the United States are under scrutiny after last week's disappointing nonfarm payrolls, which triggered a slide in the greenback. Meanwhile, the euro found support ahead of anticipated talks next week to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. Last week, President Donald Trump fired the official responsible for the labour data he did not like, and focus is centring on his nomination to fill a coming vacancy on the Fed's Board of Governors and candidates for the next chair of the central bank. "All those things suggest that we're seeing those political risks around the U.S. dollar increase, and on top of that you've got the weak data coming through," said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG. Any progress in ending the war in Ukraine "is going to be a positive driver of the euro," he added. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of major peers, edged up 0.1% to 98.259 in early trade in Asia, after a 0.6% slide in the previous session. The U.S. currency was little changed at 147.36 yen . The euro stood at $1.1654 , down almost 0.1% after a 0.7% jump previously. The U.S. Labor Department is expected to report that initial claims for unemployment benefits likely rose by 3,000 to 221,000 for the week ended August 2. Continued jobless claims for the week that ended July 26 are expected to increase slightly. Data last Friday showed U.S. employment growth was weaker than expected in July while the nonfarm payrolls count for the prior two months was revised down considerably, suggesting a sharp deterioration in labour market conditions. Fed funds futures traders are now pricing in a 94% probability of a 25 basis point cut at the Fed's September meeting, up from 48% a week ago, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool. In total, traders see 60.5 basis points in cuts this year. Trump could meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin as soon as next week, a White House official said on Wednesday, as the U.S. kept up pressure on Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. The president said on Tuesday he would decide on a nominee to replace outgoing Fed Governor Adriana Kugler by the end of the week and had separately narrowed the possible replacements for Fed Chair Jerome Powell to a short list of four. Sterling was steady at $1.33505 . The Australian dollar was little changed at $0.65 . Bitcoin edged 0.1% lower to $115,038.79.
The Guardian
2 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Trump news at a glance: president hails progress on Ukraine war and threatens India with steep tariffs
US president Donald Trump may meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin as early as next week to discuss the war in Ukraine, White House officials have said. The development comes as senior administration officials have also warned that serious 'impediments' remain to achieving a ceasefire. Secretary of state Marco Rubio said he was hopeful the progress could lead to a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy in future, but that he did not want to overstate progress made during US special envoy Steve Witkoff's visit to Moscow. 'What we have is a better understanding of the conditions under which Russia would be willing to end the war,' he said. The US would then need to compare that with 'what the Ukrainians are willing to accept'. Here are today's key stories at a glance: Donald Trump has claimed 'great progress was made' during talks on ending the war in Ukraine between his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on Wednesday. The three-hour talks came two days before a deadline the US president set for Russia to reach a peace deal in the war or face fresh sanctions. Read the full story The White House is placing an additional 25% tariff on imports from India, bringing total tariffs up to 50%, in retaliation for the country's purchase of oil from Russia, according to an executive order signed on Wednesday morning. India has 21 days to respond to the potential tariffs before they go into effect. The tariffs will be tacked on to a 25% tariff on India Donald Trump set last week as a 'penalty' for the country's trading relationship with Russia. Read the full story Donald Trump on Wednesday celebrated a commitment by Apple to increase its investments in US manufacturing by an additional $100bn over the next four years. Apple's plan to up its domestic investment comes as it seeks to avoid Trump's threatened tariffs, which would increase the tech giant's costs as it relies on a complex international supply chain to produce its iPhones. Read the full story Donald Trump said he would impose a 100% tariff on foreign computer chips, likely raising the cost of electronics, autos, household appliances and other goods deemed essential for the digital age. Read the full story Texas Democrats who left the state say they experienced a bomb threat at their Illinois hotel amid an ongoing clash with Republicans over their effort to block a new congressional map from going into place. Read the full story A new report has found hundreds of reported cases of human rights abuses in US immigration detention centers. The alleged abuses uncovered include deaths in custody, physical and sexual abuse of detainees, denial of access to attorneys, and child separation. Read the full story The report comes on the same day that US border patrol agents carried out a raid outside a Home Depot in Los Angeles on Wednesday, with officers jumping out of an unmarked rental truck and chasing and arresting more than a dozen people. The raid raised questions about whether the US government was complying with a federal court order. Read the full story In a sweeping escalation of its attacks on institutions of higher education, Trump administration has suspended $584m in federal funding for the University of California, Los Angeles – nearly double the amount that was previously expected, the school's chancellor announced on Wednesday. Read the full story JD Vance's team had the army corps of engineers take the unusual step of changing the outflow of a lake in Ohio to accommodate a recent boating excursion on a family holiday, the Guardian has learned. Read the full story Republican senator and Trump ally Marsha Blackburn announced she will run for governor of Tennessee. Donald Trump is threatening to strip Washington DC of its local governance and place it under direct federal control after an alleged assault on a Doge employee. JD Vance was reportedly to host a meeting on Wednesday evening at his residence with a handful of senior Trump administration officials to discuss their strategy for dealing with the ongoing scandal surrounding the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Donald Trump is threatening to strip Washington DC of its local governance and place the US capital under direct federal control, citing what he described as rampant youth crime. Catching up? Here's what happened on 5 August 2025.
