Protecting the Property Rights of Border Landowners Act

Protecting the Property Rights of Border Landowners Act

This bill amends the the Immigration and Nationality Act to: (1) authorize the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as well as the Department of Justice (DOJ), to acquire by purchase or gift any interest in land near an international border deemed essential to guard U.S. boundaries or borders, and (2) prohibit DHS or DOJ from using condemnation authority to acquire land to construct a wall or other physical barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3943 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3943

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit the Secretary 
of Homeland Security and the Attorney General from using eminent domain 
   to acquire land for the purpose of constructing a wall, or other 
  physical barrier, along the international border between the United 
               States and Mexico, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 4, 2017

 Mr. O'Rourke (for himself, Mr. Gallego, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Gonzalez of 
Texas, Mr. Vela, Mr. Cuellar, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Vargas, Mr. Peters, and 
  Ms. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, and in 
    addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit the Secretary 
of Homeland Security and the Attorney General from using eminent domain 
   to acquire land for the purpose of constructing a wall, or other 
  physical barrier, along the international border between the United 
               States and Mexico, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting the Property Rights of 
Border Landowners Act''.

SEC. 2. USE OF EMINENT DOMAIN TO ACQUIRE LAND FOR PURPOSES OF BORDER 
              WALL PROHIBITED.

    Section 103(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1103(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``Attorney General may'' and 
                inserting ``Attorney General and the Secretary of 
                Homeland Security may''; and
                    (B) by striking ``the Attorney General deems'' and 
                inserting ``the Attorney General or the Secretary of 
                Homeland Security, as applicable, deems'';
            (2) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by striking ``Attorney General may'' and 
                inserting ``Attorney General and the Secretary of 
                Homeland Security may''; and
                    (B) by striking ``the Attorney General considers'' 
                and inserting ``the Attorney General or the Secretary 
                of Homeland Security, as applicable, considers'';
            (3) in paragraph (3)--
                    (A) by striking ``Attorney General and the lawful 
                owner'' and inserting ``Attorney General or the 
                Secretary of Homeland Security, as applicable, and the 
                lawful owner'';
                    (B) by striking ``Attorney General may'' and 
                inserting ``Attorney General or the Secretary of 
                Homeland Security, as applicable, may''; and
                    (C) by inserting before the period at the end the 
                following: ``, except that neither the Attorney General 
                nor the Secretary may commence any such proceedings for 
                the acquisition of any interest in land for the purpose 
                of constructing a wall, or other physical barrier, 
                along the international border between the United 
                States and Mexico''; and
            (4) in paragraph (4), by striking ``Attorney General may'' 
        and inserting ``Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland 
        Security may''.
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