Judge Rejects Bid By Dead Migrant’s Family To Blame Feds For Falling Off Border Wall

One civil rights claim has been struck from a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the widow of an undocumented immigrant who fell off a border wall in California.

Judge James Simmons, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, on Feb. 13 granted the federal government’s motion to dismiss claims under the Bane Act, a federal statute that targets those who threaten civil rights.

The plaintiff argued the Federal Tort Claims Act permits a Bane Act claim premised on a state constitutional violation, but Simmons wrote, “Creating a waiver of sovereign immunity against the United States for state constitutional claims disregards the purpose of the FTCA.”