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Trump border wall lawsuit filed by California

The state of California filed a lawsuit Wednesday in a federal district court challenging the Trump administration's plans to build a wall along the state's border with Mexico.

The 53-page complaint was filed by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a former member of Congress, and the California Coastal Commission, which is a state agency that oversees the use of certain public lands, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

"The border between us and Mexico spans some 2,000 miles," Becerra said at a press conference announcing the lawsuit. "The list of laws violated by the president's administration in order to build his campaign wall is almost as long."

Becerra alleges that the Department of Homeland Security has waived nearly 40 federal statutes and regulations and has violated state and local laws in California, as well as state and federal environmental laws. The administration, the attorney general added, has violated provisions of the Constitution including the 10th Amendment and separations of powers. Becerra also recently filed a lawsuit against the administration for its decision to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

"If you want to do business in the state of California, and that includes the president, then be prepared to follow the law," Becerra said.

The lawsuit notes that DHS announced this year that initial construction of the border wall project would take place in parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas as well as San Diego County, California and Imperial County, California. The administration has also announced that it has selected contractors to build prototypes of their border wall designs in San Diego.

In the lawsuit, California asks that the court stop DHS from "any and all planning, design and construction activities related to installing barriers along the United States-Mexico border, including the construction of prototypes, and all other infrastructure plans referenced in the San Diego and Calexico Waivers, until DHS fully complies with these laws."

"DHS has injured and continues to injure California by failing to disclose and consider the direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental effects that the Border Wall project will have on the resources of California," the lawsuit adds.

In addition, the plaintiffs say that DHS has not issued any findings that show that rebuilding an existing fence in San Diego "will reduce the number of illegal entries in the area."

Congress has not authorized funding to build the wall because Democrats have the power in the Senate to block those proposals. 

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