The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans said it did not have jurisdiction to jump into the case because the government had not finished the condemnation of two parcels of land in Los Ebanos.
Hilaria and Baldomero Muniz, an elderly couple who toiled as migrant farmworkers for decades before settling in the small community in Hidalgo County, had appealed after a district judge gave federal surveyors access to their property in preparation for construction of the fence on the U.S. Mexico border.
Attorneys for the Munizes and another property owner, Pamela Rivas, argued that the district judge erred when he allowed government officials to attempt to negotiate property access after suing.
They said the law requires the government to try to strike a deal before - not after - filing a lawsuit.
I agree with that last. I don't get why the federal court didn't.
