Late last year California sued the Trump administration in an effort to block the construction of a wall along the southern border of the state with Mexico.
Democratic attorneys general including California’s Xavier Becerra have sued the Trump administration on a range of issues.
The border wall lawsuit filed in a San Diego federal court alleges that Trump’s wall violates federal environmental standards, as well as constitutional provisions regarding the separation of powers and states’ rights.
The lawsuit asks a judge to stop the administration from building the wall until it demonstrates compliance with environmental laws, and issue an order that the Department of Homeland Security cannot waive any federal guidelines in order to facilitate the project.
Today, they lost that lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel ruled California's arguments do not stand and that the federal government is allowed to wave environmental laws. The ruling allows for the border wall to move forward.
“Border security is paramount to stemming the flow of illegal immigration that contributes to rising violent crime and to the drug crisis, and undermines national security," DOJ Spokesman Devin O'Malley said about the judgement. "Congress gave authority to the Department of Homeland Security to construct a border wall without delay to prevent illegal entry into the United States, and we are pleased DHS can continue this important work vital to our nation’s interests.”
Ironically Curiel is the judge President Trump criticized during the 2016 election, arguing he can't properly rule on immigration issues because he is "Mexican." Curiel is an American.