Eminent domain issues on the border

City Lab -  By declaring a national emergency to build a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border, President Donald Trump is teeing up a slate of legal challenges, potentially including from homeowners along the border whose land has been in their families for generations. The administration may have to use eminent domain—the power of government to take ownership of private property for public use—though House Democrats are introducing a set of bills to protect homeowners who may be affected. Their efforts may even win over small-government Republicans, who have traditionally opposed the quick-and-dirty way the federal government acquires land.