Court Lets Texas Join Suit Alleging Federal Land Overreach

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – A court has allowed Texas to join a group of families suing the federal government, alleging unconstitutional seizure of land along the Texas-Oklahoma border.

State Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Monday that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas granted the state’s intervention in a lawsuit filed in November.

It accuses the federal Bureau of Land Management of a “blatant land grab” involving a 116-mile tract along the Red River. The river marks the Texas-Oklahoma border, but its waters have shifted for decades, raising ownership questions.

Federal officials say they want to work with residents to determine proper ownership.

Paxton said in a statement that “Texas will not stand for the federal government’s infringement upon Texas land and the property rights of the people who live here.”

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