Making American Great Again …But for Whom? Consider the Wall

April 7, 2017

Guest blogger: Alexandra Iova-Negoescu, law student, University of San Francisco

Make America Great Again. The slogan that became Donald J. Trump’s campaign mantra and tag line he shouted for over a year and a half to anyone who would listen. For a man so adamant about making that slogan a reality, he sure knows how to back right out of it. Maybe Donald Trump really is a politician…But that really is not the point here. The point is that Mr. Trump is hell bent on building the border wall between the United States and Mexico. He is so narrowly focused on this, that he cannot be bothered with the fact that in his quest to “make America great again” he is actually hurting U.S. citizens.

According to an article published by CNN on April 3, 2017, building the promised wall will require taking private property away from thousands of U.S. citizens. Suddenly, funding the wall does not seem to be the worst of our problems. How does a citizen lose their property? The federal government has the authority to invoke a doctrine called “eminent domain.” The U.S. Constitution allows the government to seize property for public use, but only if the property owners are fairly compensated. Generally, no private citizen is ever fairly compensated for their land – hence all the litigation that occurs.

CNN conducted an analysis of federal lawsuits that stemmed from the 2006 border fence where the government also seized private land from property owners. In 442 lawsuits, CNN found that property owners always lost their land, with 93 cases remaining open. The lawsuits involved at least 678 owners. One man, against the building of the wall, owns a 580 acre ranch that has been in his family for nearly 100 years. Now he stands to lose his family legacy, but he is not willing to go down without a fight. It is estimated that this border wall will produce litigation that far surpasses what happened in 2006.

In Brownsville, Texas, residents of the River Bend resort and golf club also are preparing to fight for their land. The property houses more than 300 residents who live in mobile homes or brick houses that have been strategically placed around the golf course. Most of them are over 65, trying to enjoy retirement, and not very wealthy. Unfortunately for them, their only possible saving grace would be if Mr. Trump owned this particular golf course.

The lawsuits will inevitably cause massive delays and a ton of money. Those who cannot afford attorneys are usually steam-rolled by the government, and most if not all of the property owners can expect their government check to be much smaller than what their property is actually worth. According to federal authorities, as cited in the CNN article, only roughly one-third of the border property is currently owned by the federal government. During his time on the campaign trail, Mr. Trump has had no issue in spewing alternative facts that property owners are compensated a fortune for their property.

After the 2006 battles commenced, the government spent a fortune to acquire control. More than $78 million was spent and some additional $25 million is expected to be spent to settle unresolved transactions and litigation expenses. If the battle that is about to begin now is going to be greater than that of 2006, imagine the amounts that will be spent, that really should be going towards other more meaningful and helpful scenarios, such as immigration reform.

A border wall built on a foundation of misinformation, induced fear, improper assumptions and overall ignorance stands about as much chance of succeeding as learning to breathe underwater indefinitely.