Texas Family Will Keep Land Held for Generations That Was Seized for Border Wall: 'Deeply Grateful'

Aaron Parsley
·2 min read
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Reynaldo Anzaldua, a cousin of the Cavazos family, speaks on his family's property in Mission, Texas, on January 15, 2019. - In this yard in the Texas town of Mission, they played as children, learned how to fish, picked cotton and gathered watermelons. But because it's on the border with Mexico, the Cavazos family could lose their property -- to Donald Trump's border wall. They are not going down without a fight. (Photo by SUZANNE CORDEIRO / AFP) (Photo credit should read SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images)
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SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty

A relieved family in Texas will keep their land along the southern border after it was seized by the federal government for construction of a wall.

The Cavazos family had been fighting for 6.5-acres of property along the Rio Grande since 2018, when the Trump administration was claiming privately owned land to fulfill the former president's signature campaign promise to secure the border with a wall.

President Joe Biden pledged to halt expansion of a border wall, calling it a "waste of money that diverts attention from genuine threats to our homeland security" in a proclamation on the first day of his presidency.

But in a setback, a federal judge ruled in April on a 2020 motion that preceded Biden's move and had already been delayed, allowing the government to take "immediate possession" of the property, leaving the Cavazos family, who've held the land for generations, feeling betrayed by a "broken promise."

RELATED: Trump's Unfinished Border Wall: What Happens To It?

Now the Biden administration has agreed to return the land to the family, CNN reports.

Construction Of Border Wall Continues In Arizona
Construction Of Border Wall Continues In Arizona

Micah Garen/Getty A portion of Donald Trump's uncompleted border wall in Arizona

The Cavazos have held property along the Rio Grande since the 1760s, according to the Washington Post.

The Texas Civil Rights Project, who represents a member of the Cavazos family, declared victory on Tuesday.

"Our client, Eloisa Cavazos, has just had her land returned to her after fighting against the government's seizure and border wall construction since 2018," the group said in a Tweet. "Now that we have successfully stopped the construction of a needless and wasteful border wall on their property, Ms. Cavazos and her family will be able to continue their quiet and fulfilling life beside the Rio Grande."

RELATED: Texas Governor Says State Will Build Its Own Border Wall After Biden Squashed Trump's Plan

Cavazos expressed her gratitude for family members and advocates' "tireless efforts through the process of redeeming our family's land these past four years resulting in this unbelievably positive outcome," she said in a statement given to CNN. "I am deeply grateful to everyone who has been involved in this undertaking."