California loses border wall challenge at appeals court

A federal appeals court has ruled that the Trump administration didn’t exceed its powers by waiving environmental rules to speed up construction of prototypes and replacement of the U.S.-Mexico border wall.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had rejected arguments by the state of California and environmental groups who tried to block work that has mostly been completed near San Diego and Calexico.

The 2-1 opinion upheld a lower court decision that found the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 allows the Department of Homeland Security to avoid lengthy environmental reviews to speed construction of border barriers.

The one dissenting judge said the case should have been thrown out because such appeals belong before the Supreme Court.

The ruling came as Congress worked out a government funding deal that includes some but not all of the money President Trump wants for his cherished border wall expansion. A dispute over that funding, which doesn’t include the sections of wall challenged in court, led to an unprecedented 35-day government shutdown that ended last month.