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President Trump visits the U.S.-Mexico border in April to see the installation of a newly installed section of wall.
The White House is preparing to go to court to seize private land for construction of the wall without confirming the amount it will compensate property owners, NBC reports, citing people familiar with the process.
In most eminent domain cases, the government strikes an agreement on how much it will pay before taking the land. However, the administration plans to file in federal court under a special provision that would only reveal the price after the land is in its hands, according to NBC.
Shocked? Don't be. Trump's fascination with eminent domain predates his time in office.
When he was in the casino business in the '90s, Trump tried to seize the home of an elderly widow so he could build a limousine parking lot for his Atlantic City Trump Plaza, according to reporting by the Guardian. Ultimately, he lost a court battle and she kept her home.
During a separate '90s real estate development in Connecticut, Trump's organization proposed working with the city of Bridgeport to condemn a group of business owners' land to get the property it sought. The deal, however, never came together.
Trump has defended the use of eminent domain in interviews, once telling ABC News, "Cities have the right to condemn for the good of the city."
Gosh, wouldn't that be kinda like... gasp... socialism?
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