9th Circuit rules that Trump can waive environmental constraints to build wall
No, you’re not dreaming—the very liberal 9th Circuit ruled that a president has the power to expedite the building of a border wall by waiving certain environmental constraints:
BREAKING: Ninth Circuit sides with TRUMP on Border Wall… https://t.co/WX5vm9R0wN
— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) February 12, 2019
The three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which President Trump regularly likes to chide as too liberal, sided with him this time.
The judges said federal law gives the administration broad powers to waive any laws in order to get the wall built.
“In short, the plain text [of the law] grants DHS authority to construct the prototype, San Diego and Calexico projects,” the judges ruled.
This is based on a statute passed during the Clinton administration, back in the olden days when even Democrats seemed to favor a wall.
To what do we owe this decision, that seems to run in a pro-Trump direction? I am certainly no expert on this case or this issue, but I think the difference between the decision here and in so many other decisions by the 9th Circuit is that they are ruling on an issue governed by a statute whose language and intent are so very unequivocal that it would be a bridge too far even for the 9th Circuit to find a way to rule otherwise.
I’m still surprised, though.
Well it’s a three judge decision, so the 9th could still go back to an en banc retrial. Also, one judge dissented claiming that the 9th should not even be hearing the case. I think he suggested it should have gone directly to the SCOTUS instead.
My head…. it spins….
Then I read TommyJay’s comment.
so the 9th could still go back to an en banc retrial.</i
Yup. Will they ?
A third judge, a Republican appointee, dissented, saying the courts didn’t even have jurisdiction to hear the challenge in the first place. She said if the courts did have jurisdiction, she would have agreed with her two colleagues’ reasoning.
Hmmm. Two Democrats deny the petition.
Fencing built under the 2006 Secure Fence Act caused habitat fragmentation that adversely affected wildlife, including endangered wildlife. A 2011 study published in the peer-reviewed journal Diversity and Distributions determined that the habitat fragmentation determined that “small range size is associated with a higher risk of extinction, and for some species, the barriers reduce range by as much as 75%.”[19] The study identified the most “at risk” species as the Arroyo toad (Anaxyrus californicus), California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii), black-spotted newt (Notophthalmus meridionalis), Pacific pond turtle (Clemmys marmorata), and jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi). The study also identified coastal California, coastal Texas, and the Madrean Sky Island Archipelago of southeastern Arizona as the three border regions where the barrier posed the greatest risk to wildlife. In Texas, for example, “the border barrier affects 60% to 70% of the habitat in the South Texas Wildlife Refuge Complex, which includes the Laguna Atascosa, Lower Rio Grande Valley, and Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuges.”
this was how they blocked the 2006 law.
but there is other laws that provide powers and money to act against drugs
been waiting for the lawyers to write and figure out he dont need an emergency
and that most of what he is doing, is dog and poney for the benefit of the people to see how certain party behaves..
now… what am i talking about?
sorry… i read the law.. and the funding was always there…
the funding was put in years ago under the interdiction and drug war laws
and gives money and broad powers to control borders and take action
and long ago, i pointed out under obama that within 100 miles of the border emergency was already decalred… (And certain laws ended but not used so people arent noticing!)
ah… you know 2 out of three people live in this zone..
Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont lie entirely or almost entirely within this area.
The regulations establishing the 100-mile border zone were adopted by the U.S. Department of Justice in 1953—without any public comments or debate.
i had the text, but coming here, neo was talking about everything BUT this
so i lost it… i tried to save it to wait, but WEEKS passed…
oh well.
but i bet the lawyers who know the anti drug laws and other such laws might know what i am referring to… was a great article… wish i saved the title and code
The judges didn’t side with “Trump”, they said:
“the plain text [of the law] grants DHS authority to construct the prototype, San Diego and Calexico projects,”
Yes, this is the Trump DHS now, but it was the Obama DHS before, and it will be another President’s DHS after Trump. It’s a “DHS does have the authority” ruling.
See how the Fake News is making it about Trump. And Trump is happy to have it about Trump, win or lose (that’s one of HIS weaknesses).
Most of what has happened and will happen in America is NOT about Trump. Just like the 2006 laws are not about Trump – altho they do involve Trump when he is using prior laws to authorize actions he likes that the Dems don’t like.
Tom Gray:
The point I was trying to make is that objectivity in the judiciary has declined to the point of being rare these days. So often it IS all about Trump, although it shouldn’t be. This didn’t start with Trump’s presidency, either.
“I think the difference between the decision here and in so many other decisions by the 9th Circuit is that they are ruling on an issue governed by a statute whose language and intent are so very unequivocal that it would be a bridge too far even for the 9th Circuit to find a way to rule otherwise.” – Neo
The fault lies with the Congress in writing laws so loosely that the bureaucrats and courts can play around with them to the point of almost turning them inside out.
FWIW, here’s Sanders on the border deal:
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/02/13/white-house-waits-compromise-security-bill-congress-bickers-details/
“Earlier Wednesday, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said that the White House would examine the text closely before signaling their support for it.
“Unlike Nancy Pelosi, we actually like to read legislation before we agree to it,” she said.”
AAAANNNND some people aren’t happy with the idea of shifting money from one ledger to another, but again, if the appropriations and statutes don’t forbid it, that’s the fault of Congress. Besides, they didn’t have any problem with Obama shifting funds around whenever he had a better use for them. Like paying off Iranian tyrants.
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2019/02/13/dem-rep-threatens-retribution-if-disaster-relief-funds-used-to-finance-wall-trump-will-pay-heavy-price/
Tom Grey on February 13, 2019 at 6:20 pm at 6:20 pm said:
The judges didn’t side with “Trump”, they said:
“the plain text [of the law] grants DHS authority to construct the prototype, San Diego and Calexico projects,”
Yes, this is the Trump DHS now, but it was the Obama DHS before, and it will be another President’s DHS after Trump. It’s a “DHS does have the authority” ruling.
See how the Fake News is making it about Trump. And Trump is happy to have it about Trump, win or lose (that’s one of HIS weaknesses).
* * *
Well, we can’t have anybody thinking that the media is somehow biased against the President, can we?
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/02/12/nolte-journalists-bully-bloomingdales-banning-fake-news-t-shirts/
Artfldgr on February 13, 2019 at 4:02 pm at 4:02 pm said:
[environmentalists object to altering habitat of threatened species to build wall]
this was how they blocked the 2006 law.
but there is other laws that provide powers and money to act against drugs
been waiting for the lawyers to write and figure out he dont need an emergency
and that most of what he is doing, is dog and poney for the benefit of the people to see how certain party behaves..
now… what am i talking about?
sorry… i read the law.. and the funding was always there…
the funding was put in years ago under the interdiction and drug war laws
and gives money and broad powers to control borders and take action
* * *
What he said. The wall or other barriers should have been FINISHED years ago, but the Congress probably knew when they passed the law that they were never going to do what they promised.
It’s dogs and ponies all the way down.
Hopefully Trump will be able to appoint enough real judges to outvote the political operatives who are sitting on the bench. Cases like this one, the Keystone Pipeline, the “Muslim ban,” the Climate Change case, and the like, are political matters that should have been dismissed sua sponte by the first judge that received the complaint.