Why the sudden admission?
Maybe because we will soon be seeing these actions taking place, so they must posture to maintain their credibility.
With $8 billion dollars to spend on barrier, a lot of Texas landowners are going to have to move over and make room this year.
I was under the impression that there is already an easement on the border - so why would the owner receive any compensation?
I was under the impression that there is already an easement on the border - so why would the owner receive any compensation?
Buy it from the owners?
Uh, I’m sorry but did I not hear of a landowner that was willing to let his land go in favor of building a wall on it?? I don’t think I dreamed that.........
Of course some @holes will demand way more than the true value; that's why a standard has to be set. I can see the attorney ads in border states now..."Is the Federal Government trying to steal your land for the wall? We can get you more! Call today!"
Head those time consuming and costly suits off at the pass, with fair rules about payment.
If not for the Adam Schitt and Eric SmallWood hoax, the wall could have been paid for by now.
It’s OUR border wall, you POS MSN!!!!!
We’ll get just enough to quiet us down and vote for Trump next election. That’s how this works.
'An investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune shows that Homeland Security cut unfair real estate deals, secretly waived legal safeguards for property owners, and ultimately abused the government’s extraordinary power to take land from private citizens.
The major findings:
* Homeland Security circumvented laws designed to help landowners receive fair compensation. The agency did not conduct formal appraisals of targeted parcels. Instead, it issued low-ball offers based on substandard estimates of property values.
* Larger, wealthier property owners who could afford lawyers negotiated deals that, on average, tripled the opening bids from Homeland Security. Smaller and poorer landholders took whatever the government offered — or wrung out small increases in settlements. The government conceded publicly that landowners without lawyers might wind up shortchanged, but did little to protect their interests.
* The Justice Department bungled hundreds of condemnation cases. The agency took property without knowing the identity of the actual owners. It condemned land without researching facts as basic as property lines. Landholders spent tens of thousands of dollars to defend themselves from the government’s mistakes.
* The government had to redo settlements with landowners after it realized it had failed to account for the valuable water rights associated with the properties, an oversight that added months to the compensation process.
* On occasion, Homeland Security paid people for property they did not actually own. The agency did not attempt to recover the misdirected taxpayer funds, instead paying for land a second time once it determined the correct owners.
* Nearly a decade later, scores of landowners remain tangled in lawsuits. The government has already taken their land and built the border fence. But it has not resolved claims for its value.
Why not pay Me icon for their land AND build the damn wall on Me icon side of the border, NO WACKO environmentalists, NO permits, NO frigging judges interfering AND Mexico needs the money!!!!
If it’s an emergency, the owners don’t get a say (and since many, or most, are in with the cartels, either voluntarily or by force, it’s just as well).
The only issue will be the level of compensation for these properties, but ONLY after the wall is built.