More than 200 acres of public land in Texas were transferred to the Department of Homeland security on the order of a federal judge. The department sought the land as part of its plan to build hundreds of miles of fences along the U.S.-Mexico border.
"U.S. District Judge Alia Moses Ludlum ordered Eagle Pass to surrender 233 acres of city-owned land. The Justice Department had sued for access to the land Monday. Ludlum's ruling came the same day, before the city could muster a challenge.
The Homeland Security Department is trying to build 370 miles of border fence by the end of the year. A law signed by President Bush in October and supported by both of Texas' U.S. senators mandated a total of 700 miles of fence along the border.
The government had warned the city, which opposes the fence, that it would sue under eminent domain laws to secure access to the land. The judge's order, issued in the Texas Western District Court, Del Rio division, said the United States was entitled to possession or control of the property for 180 days."
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