As Donald Trump tries to move forward with his promised border wall, CNN spoke with families who’ve been through this before and others, mostly Trump voters, who are at risk of having the wall cut through their property, leaving some of their homes on the Mexican side of the wall. First, a glimpse at what border families have been through in the last decade of wall construction:
A CNN analysis of lawsuits filed the last time the government seized land to build a border fence in 2006 found that property owners who fought to keep their land always lost and that the government often offered them thousands of dollars less than the land was worth.
Many court battles dragged on for years, stalling construction at times, according to the review of more than 400 federal lawsuits. In scores of cases, the litigation continues today.
Republicans seem to have all the taxpayer money in the world to fight legal battles, no? With nearly 1,500 miles of new proposed wall, the lawsuits could number in the thousands. Residents of the River Bend Resort & Golf Club, a mobile home park located in Brownsville, Texas, were spared in 2006 when the current wall was stopped on one side of the property and picked up again on the other side. If Trump’s border wall goes through, most of the residents will be living in Mexico and they aren’t happy:
"If it did that, 70% of our property would be on the south side of the wall," said Jeremy Barnard, general manager of the resort. "That would affect 15 of our 18 holes of the golf course and over 200 residences."
Resident Bell said she's a Trump supporter, but thinks his policy is misguided when it comes to the border. Fences and walls, she said, don't work. And, she's willing to go to court over her property.
"You hate to say it," she said, "I will get a lawyer if it comes to that."
The full CNN report is definitely worth a watch. See how these border families are reeling from the old and new wall:
[H/T Raw Story]