The same federal judge who President Donald Trump derided during the presidential campaign because of his Mexican heritage ruled in favor of Trump’s desire for a wall along the Mexican border.
Judge Gonzalo Curiel on Tuesday dismissed legal challenges to the wall by the state of California and a number of environmental groups.
The judge wrote that the plaintiffs failed to prove the administration overstepped its legal authority by ordering the wall.
They had argued the project violates environmental rules and the rights of states to decide whether it wants the wall on their side of the border.
Curiel said his decision was not based on whether building the wall was “politically wise or prudent.”
Curiel oversaw lawsuits of alleged fraud by Trump University during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump, then a Republican candidate, ridiculed the U.S.-born judge over his Mexican heritage and accused him of bias.
Trump paid a multimillion-dollar settlement in the university fraud case without admitting guilt.
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