Horns Up: Federal judge clears way for release of border wall info

As The Daily Texan reported Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell has granted a UT law professor access to the names and addresses of people affected by the 670-mile border wall due to possible discrimination. In 2008, two years after the wall was authorized by Congress, Denise Gilman, co-director of the law school’s immigration clinic, requested access to the information but received nothing more than a heavily redacted “handful of documents.” Gilman sued in response in 2009 but never received the withheld records. Now that a federal judge has forced the government to turn them over, Gilman can begin to explore possible discriminatory effects on those who live near, and now, in some cases, behind, the wall. Horns up to Judge Howell for valuing citizens’ right to access government documents and for shining a light on the possible harmful effects of the wall’s construction.