Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Challenge to U.S. Border Fence

The U.S. Supreme Court on June 15 refused to accept a case seeking to stop the federal government from building a fence along the U.S. border with Mexico, letting stand a lower-court ruling authorizing its construction. Several Texas border communities in 2008 sued the Dept. of Homeland Security, challenging its authority to waive some 37 federal and local laws to expedite construction of the border fence, which consists of 670 miles of steel fences, sheet-metal walls and vehicle barriers along the 2,000-mile-long southern border. To date, about 93% of the fence is complete.