ELR Citation: ELR 20005
No(s). 07-1801 (D.D.C. Dec 18, 2007)

A district court dismissed environmental groups' claim that the Department of Homeland Security's waiver of various federal environmental laws with respect to the construction of a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border under the REAL ID Act of 2005 was unconstitutional. The court lacks the power to invalidate the waiver provision merely because of the unlimited number of statutes that could potentially be encompassed by the Secretary's exercise of his waiver power. Rather, under the nondelegation doctrine, the relevant inquiry is whether Congress has laid down an intelligible principle to guide the executive branch, not the scope of the waiver power. Based on controlling Supreme Court precedent, the REAL ID Act's waiver provision is a valid delegation of authority.