After battling for years against the Trump administration\u2019s plan to seize some of their family\u2019s land in South Texas to build a border wall, the Cavazos siblings believed the inauguration of President Biden would bring a successful end to their fight.<\/p>\n
Mr. Biden had campaigned against the wall, promised a plan to resolve the legal wrangling with property owners and halted construction on his first day in office.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen he first became president, he said no more wall,\u201d said Jose Alfredo Cavazos, who owns the land along the Rio Grande. \u201cA godsend, I said to myself. He\u2019s going to help us.\u201d<\/p>\n
But on Tuesday, with the Biden administration having missed a self-imposed deadline for sorting out the tangled legal situation, a federal judge granted \u201cimmediate possession\u201d of a portion of the family\u2019s land to the government.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt appears President Biden did not keep his word,\u201d said Baudilia Cavazos Rodriguez, 68, Mr. Alfredo Cavazos\u2019 sister.<\/p>\n
The action appeared to be a result of a bureaucratic failure rather than any kind of policy choice, and so far it appears to be the only case of private land being taken since Mr. Biden took office. But more than 140 other landowners in South Texas are still facing lawsuits initiated by former President Donald J. Trump and are waiting to see if they will face the same fate.<\/p>\n
The White House referred questions about the judge\u2019s decision to the Justice Department, which in turn cited a court filing in which the Biden administration said it could stop seeking the land after finishing a review of the Trump administration\u2019s border wall policies. That review was supposed to be completed within 60 days but is now weeks overdue.<\/p>\n