PHOENIX 鈥 A federal judge tossed out Attorney General Mark Brnovich鈥檚 attempt to use environmental laws to immediately force the Biden administration to resume construction of the border wall.
U.S. District Judge Dominic Lanza said there is no legal basis to Brnovich鈥檚 claim that the decision to halt construction first required the federal government to conduct a study to determine the environmental impact of the change in policy. The judge said such challenges cannot be brought under the National Environmental Policy Act.
In a sometimes sharply worded 32-page ruling, Lanza said the arguments by Brnovich linking border wall construction and illegal immigration are legally and factually flawed. He said the attorney general failed to show any actual link between the issues.
Brnovich鈥檚 spokeswoman Katie Conner criticized the ruling.
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鈥淲ith illegal crossings at all-time highs and an unprecedented surge in fentanyl trafficking across the border, the court鈥檚 conclusion that 蜜柚直播 is not suffering any injuries traceable to the Biden Administration鈥檚 policies is difficult to understand,鈥欌 she said in a written statement.
Conner said that while Lanza refused to order that wall construction be immediately restarted, the ruling does not preclude Brnovich from pursuing his claim and asking for a trial.
The Republican attorney general filed the lawsuit last year against the Biden administration and on behalf of the state.
Lanza said the lawsuit is based on the theory that existing gaps in border wall are enticing migrants, who otherwise would remain in Mexico, to stream into 蜜柚直播. With that goes the assumption that if those gaps had been filled through continued construction of the wall, those migrants would have been deterred from crossing the border.
鈥淭here are two problems with this logic,鈥欌 Lanza wrote.
The first, he said, is that the Biden administration showed that the canceled projects in 蜜柚直播 amount to no more than 18 miles. The judge said there are still areas of 蜜柚直播 without a border barrier and those gaps would have remained even if the original project had been completed.
鈥淭he state does not argue otherwise,鈥欌 Lanza said.
鈥淭hus, regardless of defendants鈥 action or inaction, 蜜柚直播 would have been left with an incomplete wall on its southern border filled with gaps,鈥欌 the judge wrote. 鈥淚t is speculative that the less-incomplete version of the border wall the state wishes to compel defendants to build would necessarily deter migrants from entering 蜜柚直播.鈥欌
The other problem, Lanza said, is that Brnovich fails to acknowledge 鈥渢hat aliens committed to entering the United States have time and again found ways to overcome and bypass walls on the southern border.鈥欌 The judge said the state is asking him to speculate about why people enter the country illegally and whether the construction of certain impediments would result in effective deterrence.
鈥淭his chain of reasoning ... is marred by attenuation unsupported by well-pleaded facts and impermissibly ignores the myriad other economic, social, and political realities that might influence an alien鈥檚 decision to risk life and limb to come to the United States,鈥欌 Lanza wrote.
The judge acknowledged there has been a dramatic increase in migration since the proclamation ending wall construction. But here, too, he said, Brnovich failed to show that increase is linked to halting the project versus other factors.
鈥淣or would it make sense to attribute the immediate increase in migration to cessation of construction activities, given the border wall would not have otherwise been completed overnight,鈥欌 Lanza said.
He also said it鈥檚 a fact that 190 miles of additional border wall built between 2018 and 2020 鈥渨as unable to stop this increase in migration.鈥欌
The judge was no more impressed by Brnovich鈥檚 arguments that termination of wall construction has led to an increase of fentanyl coming into 蜜柚直播. He pointed out that the state鈥檚 statistics include amounts seized at ports of entry.
鈥淭o the extent there has been an uptick in drug smuggling activities via 蜜柚直播鈥檚 ports of entry since the challenged policies and programs went into effect, this undermines rather than supports the notion that the unfilled gaps in the border wall attributable to defendants鈥 cessation plans are the cause of more crime,鈥欌 Lanza wrote.
And the judge said Brnovich鈥檚 case is not helped by the declaration of James Chilton, a cattle rancher whose property is located along about 5.5 miles of the international border between Nogales and Sasabe.
Chilton said the government had almost finished extending the wall across the southern border of his property but left about a half mile unprotected except for a four-strand barbed-wire fence designed to discourage cattle from crossing. The rancher said even where the wall was built, it is unfinished, as it does not contain operating lights, electronic sensors or other technology.
Chilton said there has been 鈥渁 dramatic increase鈥欌 in the number of people coming through his stretch of the border since wall construction ceased.
But Lanza said even if the entire five miles had been completed, there would be other gaps along the border where other ranches and individuals live.
鈥淚t is entirely speculative that aliens willing to risk life and limb to cross the border via the gap on Mr. Chilton鈥檚 property would have decided the risk wasn鈥檛 worth it if their next-best option was to cross via the many other gaps that would have remained regardless of defendants鈥 conduct,鈥欌 the judge wrote.
Finally, Lanza said Brnovich鈥檚 argument made no sense that ceasing the wall construction harmed wildlife.
He said federal appeals courts have recognized that construction of the wall itself can result in environmental damage, such as separating certain animal populations and decreasing biodiversity.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 necessarily follow that the cessation of border all construction activities will also cause such harms,鈥欌 Lanza said.
Photos of the U.S. 鈥 Mexico border fence
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

A dog stands on a road commonly used by Border Patrol near Slaughter Ranch Museum Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

A border monument on the Mexico side of the border seen east of Douglas Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

The San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge sits on the U.S. side of the border with Mexico east of Douglas Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

A bull and cow graze near the site of new wall construction east of Douglas Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

The border seen stretching from hills east of Douglas into the Guadalupe Mountains Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

Flowers grow around border fencing near the San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

Construction equipment set up at the site of new border wall construction on the US/Mexico border east of Douglas Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

A Border Patrol tower on the hills east of Douglas Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

Memorials place on graves at Julia Page Memorial Park in Douglas which sits along the U.S./Mexico border Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

A car drives through Douglas on a road parallel to the U.S./Mexico border wall Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

The Slaughter Ranch homestead Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

A lake on the Slaughter Ranch Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

A toy rocking horse placed on the side of East Geronimo Trail with a sign advertising five minute pony rides for 25 cents Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

Highway 2 in Mexico winds its way to Agua Prieta Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

The vehicle in a ditch was driven through the international border fence in Agua Prieta, Mex., into Douglas, 蜜柚直播 in July 1987.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

Mexican citizens run back into Agua Prieta, Mexico through a hole in the border fence at Douglas, Ariz., after the U.S. Border Patrol scared them back across the border in 1997.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

The Raul Hector Castro Port of Entry on May 1, 2018, in Douglas, Ariz.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

The Douglas, Ariz., border crossing in 1968.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.

U.S./Mexico border fencing next to a old church building in Lochiel Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.

Old border posts line the U.S./Mexico line near Lochiel Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.

A Soal Off Roading sticker placed on a U.S./Mexico border post near Lochiel Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.

Mountains in Santa Cruz County seen from Duquesne Road between Nogales and Lochiel seen Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.

A monument in Lochiel marking where Fray Marcos De Niza entered 蜜柚直播 Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.

Brothers Ramon and Ed De La Ossa mend fencing on their family's ranch in Lochiel after moving cattle Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019. The ranch which used to span both sides of the U.S./Mexico border has been in the family for three generations.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.

Ed De La Ossa mends fencing on his family's ranch in Lochiel Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019. The ranch which used to span both sides of the U.S./Mexico border has been in the family for three generations.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.

Ed De La Ossa moves cattle on his family's ranch in Lochiel Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.

U.S. Customs inspector Helen Mills, right, greets Mexican counterpart Raymundo Aguirre Castillo at the U.S. - Mexican border station at Lochiel, Ariz., in 1979.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.

The US Customs building, right, at Lochiel, Ariz., is just a short distance away from the international border in May 1972. For ten years, Mills has been managing the port of entry, which is mostly made up of five houses, a school and an vacant church, inspecting vehicles as they head into the US. During the week, from Monday through Saturday, Mills opens the border gate from 8 am to 10 am and from 4 pm to 6 pm. On Sunday the gate is open from 8 am to 6 pm. In that time barely a dozen vehicles make their way across the border but it is a major convenience to the local residents.聽
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.

Pedestrians walk to the Nogales port of entry Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.

A pedestrian walks across North Grand Avenue in Nogales near the U.S./Mexico port of entries Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer R. Hernandez uses a density-measuring device on the rear quarter-panel of a Mexico-bound passenger vehicle at the DeConcini Port of Entry on Nov. 2, 2016, in Nogales, Ariz.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.

A Customs and Border Protection officer makes a visual check of a man's identification at the DeConcini Port of Entry on Feb. 15, 2017, in Nogales, Ariz. Busts of fraudulent border-crossing documents and the use of someone else's documents plummeted in 蜜柚直播 and the rest of the border in the past decade.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.

Northbound commercial truck traffic lined up for inspection at the Mariposa Port of Entry on March 28, 2017, in Nogales, Ariz.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.

In the commercial lanes a semi truck stops between the lanes looking for the first available opening at the Mariposa Port of Entry in 2015.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.

Javier Castillo inspects a north-bound Mexican tractor-trailer at the 蜜柚直播 Department of Transportation's inspection facility at the Mariposa Port of Entry on Sept. 19, 2017, in Nogales, Ariz. ADOT's International Border Inspection Qualification program, led by ADOT's Border Liaison Unit, teaches commercial truck drivers what to expect during safety inspections when they enter 蜜柚直播 ports of entry.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.

A Border Patrol truck parked near the commercial port of entry in Nogales.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.

An illegal alien scales the U.S.-Mexico fence back toward Sonora after a Nogales Police Department officer, right, spotted him west of the Mariposa Port of Entry, Nov. 15, 2018, in Nogales, Ariz.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.

Kory's, a store catering to wedding, quincea鈥揺ra and formal gowns, located at 15 N Morley Ave, Nogales, Ariz., sits katty corner to the Morley Gate Border Station on January 30, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.

Sun shines through the U.S.-Mexico bollard fence west of the Mariposa Port of Entry, Nov. 15, 2018, in Nogales, Ariz.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.

Children from Nogales, Sonora, climb through a hole in the international border fence to trick-or-treat in Nogales, 蜜柚直播, on Halloween in 1987.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

Border monument #166 is seen on the right as construction continues on the new 30-foot tall bollard fence that replaces old U.S./Mexico border fence two miles east of the Lukeville, 蜜柚直播 port of entry on October 8, 2019. Photo taken from Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

Construction continues on the new 30-foot tall bollard fence along the U.S./Mexico border two miles east of the Lukeville, 蜜柚直播 port of entry on October 8, 2019. Photo taken from Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

A Mexican worker rides his horse along a road south of the U.S./Mexican border wall on his way back into Sonoyta Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

New paneling of border wall seen about three miles east of the Lukeville/Sonoyta port of entry seen from the Mexico side of the border line Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

Old mesh paneling is removed in preparation for new wall to be built about three miles east of the Lukeville/Sonoyta port of entry seen from the Mexico side of the border line Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

A construction worker prepares cables to lift a piece of the 30-foot tall bollard fence along the U.S./Mexico border fence two miles east of the Lukeville, 蜜柚直播 port of entry on October 8, 2019. Photo taken from Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

Border Patrol Officers to the side of a worksite about three miles east of the Lukeville/Sonoyta port of entry where new border wall is being installed seen from the Mexico side of the border line Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

Old wall east of the Lukeville/Sonoyta port of entry seen from the Mexico side of the border line Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

Raised wall east of the Lukeville/Sonoyta port of entry seen from the Mexico side of the border line Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

A work site east of the Lukeville/Sonoyta port of entry seen from the Mexico side of the border line Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

Normandy fencing placed against a section of border fence west of Lukeville Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

A semi passes by Quitobaquito Springs as it drives along Highway 2 in Mexico Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

An area referred to as "flood gate" along the U.S./Mexico border near Sasabe, Ariz. is on the list of the Department of Homeland Security鈥檚 priorities for building a border wall, but no funding has been allocated yet. September 16, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

Vehicle barriers mark the U.S./Mexico border within the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in Sasabe, Ariz. on September 16, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

A portion of the U.S./Mexico bollard border fence ends on the right and vehicle barriers begin within the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in Sasabe, Ariz. on September 16, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection Integrated Fixed Tower, left, near Sasabe, Ariz. on September 16, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

The new 30-foot tall bollard fence that replaced old U.S./Mexico border fence can be seen on the left. It's located about miles east of the Lukeville, 蜜柚直播 port of entry on October 8, 2019. Photo taken from Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.

A US Border Patrol vehicle seen next to a section of new 30 foot high wall along the US/Mexico border near the commercial port of entry in San Luis Thursday, Aug. 8, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.

Old fencing is taken down along the United States/Mexico border seen from the northern end of San Luis, Mexico, Aug. 7, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.

A security guard stand in a construction site where a new fence will be placed on the United States/Mexico border seen from the northern end of San Luis, Mexico, Aug. 7, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.

Old fencing against new fencing along the United States/Mexico border seen from the northern end of San Luis, Mexico on Aug. 7, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.

Crews prepare ground for a new fence to be placed on the United States/Mexico border seen from the northern end of San Luis, Mexico on Aug. 7, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.

Vehicles in line to enter the United States from San Luis, Mexico on Aug. 7, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.

New fencing along the United States/Mexico border seen from the northern end of San Luis, Mexico on Aug. 7, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.

A new section of fencing on the U.S. - Mexico border in California, just west of Yuma, Ariz., in 1993.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.

Sand drifts through the "floating fence" that marks the border running through the dunes, Wednesday, July 25, 2018, west of San Luis, Ariz.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.

A sign warns of the dangers of trying to swim the All-American Canal just north of the Mexican border, Wednesday, July 25, 2018, west of San Luis, Ariz.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.

A long string of lights illuminate the no-man's land between the triple fencing of the Mexican border, Wednesday, July 25, 2018, San Luis, Ariz.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.

The border fence comes to an abrupt end at the currently dry Colorado River, Thursday, July 26, 2018, west of San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora.