Editor’s note: This story has been corrected. The Cavazos family says the Trump Administration filed a motion for immediate possession of their property. The Trump administration has not filed the motion, but will soon.
MISSION, Texas (KVEO) — While the election results were being declared, the Trump Administration picked up the pace to continue to build border wall while they still have time.
For the Cavazos family, this means their long-time family land is scheduled to be taken with no negotiation or compensation, losing a years-long battle with the United States Government.
“By the waiving of all these laws the government has actually taken our due process away from us because we go to court and we’re always going to lose because we don’t have the due process we’re supposed to have,” said a member of the Cavazos family Reynaldo Anzaldua.
Jose Cavazos, Anzaldua’s cousin, says they rent land to tenants for a living, and that they fear losing business due to the wall.
“Once that wall goes up they’ll stop coming in, it’ll be like a no-mans-land…They won’t come in,” said Cavazos.
Cavazos says he is disabled and uses a wheelchair to get around, and that the government has asked him to move a barn and shed on his own dime so they can build something called an enforcement zone.
Anzaldua also says that if they don’t reach a settlement the government is going to condemn their land and give them nothing.
“Either we accept the offer or the government just comes in and takes the land,” said Anzaldua.
Roberto Lopez, Community Coordinator for the Texas Civil Rights Project, says this is one example of many families affected by the administration’s last-fighting efforts before the end of the year.
“They have the goal of trying to get over 90 miles of border wall built here in the Rio Grande valley and that is exactly what they’re going to try to do in these last few months that they have left,” said Lopez.
He says since the Trump Administration has 2 months left, they have over-rode the negotiation process and will file a motion for immediate possession.
“This is an extremely aggressive tactic and what they’re actually saying is, we’re not going to pay you—we are not going to negotiate further right now—we’re going to take the land and build the border wall while we continue the negotiations,” said Lopez.
Anzaldua says he is a Vietnam veteran and feels this is ‘unamerican’ and is hoping to delay the building process until January of next year.
Lopez explains that their court date has been pushed back until December 15th, but that customs and border protection is expected to condemn the land prior.
