[JURIST] A federal judge on Friday dismissed [opinion, PDF] a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) [official website] that sought to block construction of a fence along the US-Mexico border. The Texas Border Coalition [advocacy website], a group of Texan officials and business owners, filed suit [JURIST report] last year challenging the condemnation of land for the construction of the fence and the compensation paid to landowners for access to conduct surveys under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 [text], the Administrative Procedure Act [text, PDF], and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment [text]. Judge Reggie Walton of the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website] found that the Coalition did not have standing to bring the suit because it was "unclear from the complaint whether any of the property owned by the plaintiff's members will actually be condemned," saying that:

It would make little procedural sense, and, indeed, thwart congressional will, to allow the plaintiff's members to preemptively challenge an anticipated condemnation when the Department's decision to pursue this course has not yet been rendered.