By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services | Arizona Daily Star
Federal officials are legally entitled to be negligent in fencing the border without worrying about getting sued over the damages their actions cause, a federal appeals court has ruled.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments by the owners of Gringo Pass in Lukeville that the Department of Homeland Security owes them $6 million in damages from flooding they say was caused by the new border fence.
In their unsigned ruling, the judges sidestepped the entire question of whether the fence was improperly designed or constructed. Instead, they concluded that federal law gives Homeland Security broad discretion in how it meets its primary goals of securing the border.
