Trump administration prepares to take over private land for wall

The Trump administration is preparing to take private land along the U.S.-Mexico border to build its border wall.

NBC News reports , the administration plans to file paperwork this week that will allow it to appropriate private land without first confirming how much it will pay the landowners.

Officials tell NBC, Jared Kushner will host a meeting at the White House this Friday to discuss plans for acquiring private properties.

Attorneys for the Departments of Justice and Defense have already prepared letters informing property owners that federal inspectors will enter their lands for assessment, surveys and soil testing.

In a typical eminent domain case, the government agrees on compensation with a land owner before thanking their property. It’s rarely profitable. In the past it’s paid as little as $100 for 18-months of access.

However, government attorneys can file under the Declaration of Taking Act. That would automatically transfer titles to the government. Price negotiations would then begin after the land was already in government hands.

One problem – the Declaration of Taking Act is meant to be reserved for emergencies. A federal judge has already ruled that President Donald Trump broke federal law when he declared a national emergency at the border. So it’s questionable whether plans to use the act will clear the legal hurdles before them.

Five Texas landowners whose property lies in the path of the planned wall are already suing to stop wall construction It’s unclear if any of the nearly private 1,000 landowners along the border will join their suit.