Judge criticized by president hears challenge to border wall
SAN DIEGO — A judge who was berated by Donald Trump during the presidential campaign says he is inclined to conclude he can decide a lawsuit that challenges the president’s proposed border wall with Mexico but gave no indication how he’ll rule.
U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel said during 2½ hours of arguments Friday that he was leaning toward deciding he has jurisdiction in a lawsuit that alleges the Trump administration overreached in waiving dozens of laws that require environmental and other reviews. The administration argues Curiel doesn’t have jurisdiction.
Curiel asked the administration and wall opponents for additional briefings by the end of Tuesday. He said he planned to decide within days after that whether to dismiss the lawsuit by the state of California and environmental advocates or let it proceed.
At the start of his first hearing on the case, Curiel acknowledged “keen interest” and told everyone in his courtroom to behave respectfully. Then both sides delved into detailed discussion on a 2005 law that gave the Homeland Security secretary broad authority to waive environmental reviews to build border barriers.
Trump repeatedly attacked Curiel as the judge presided over 2016 lawsuits alleging fraud at the now-closed Trump University neared trial, suggesting that the Indiana-born judge’s Mexican heritage exposed a bias because of Trump’s stands on immigration and border security. Trump settled the suits for $25 million shortly after winning the election, without admitting wrongdoing.
Curiel, who was forced out of his home and needed around-the-clock protection when he prosecuted Mexican drug kingpins in the 1990s, was unfazed by Trump’s criticism during the campaign, said Gregory Vega, a former U.S. attorney in San Diego and longtime friend.
“He’s had a credible threat made on his life. I don’t think when he was called names, I don’t think that really bothered him,” said Vega.
The Center for Biological Diversity was first to sue over the wall. Three other groups — Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife and the Animal Legal Defense Fund — later filed a lawsuit. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, then filed another lawsuit and Curiel consolidated all three cases into one.
The 2005 law granted powers to waive the National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act and other laws that require time-consuming reviews and are subject to prolonged legal challenges.
The Trump administration has issued three waivers since August, two to build barriers in parts of California and one in part of New Mexico.