Not So Fast Chertoff
March 10th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Media reports last Friday said that Dr. Eloisa Tamez had won a significant ruling regarding Homeland Security and the condemnation of her property. It is expected that the court ruling will significantly impact other condemnation proceedings underway in Texas to build a border wall.
We contacted Brownsville nursing instructor Dr. Tamez today. She reports that U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen has ruled that Homeland Security must negotiate a fair price with her before it files a condemnation lawsuit to take her land and build an 18-foot border wall.
Dr. Tamez, who was portrayed in the Observer story “Holes in the Wall” last month was served with a condemnation lawsuit in January. Tamez and her lawyer Peter Schey argued in a February court hearing that the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act states that Homeland Security must negotiate a fair price for her three acres of land before suing to condemn her property.
While she is adamantly against the border wall, Tamez views Judge Hanen’s ruling as a positive sign. “Chertoff didn’t follow the law,” said Tamez. “It’s important that Homeland Security engage in negotiations. The Constitution can work if it is followed.”
Tamez said that Judge Hanen has given Homeland Security until March 21 to negotiate a fair price. “I am assuming they are going to make the first move,” she said.
Tamez’s lawyer Peter Schey, president of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law in Los Angeles, had asked that she receive a jury trial but the motion was denied by Judge Hanen.
Tamez is a Spanish land grant heir. Her family was granted 12,000 acres of land in the 17th century. Tamez inherited three acres of the original parcel, which she planned to leave to her children and grandchildren.
