LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A federal judge in Nebraska has blocked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from imposing fines on Union Pacific related to drug smuggling on trains that enter the country from Mexico.
U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon ruled Monday that U.S. officials exceeded their authority with the fines and seizures of railroad equipment.
Union Pacific filed a lawsuit challenging whether it’s proper for U.S. officials to impose the penalties. Government officials say the railroad should verify what it brings into the U.S. Union Pacific chairman and CEO Jim Young says the company has invested tens of millions of dollars in security technology and will continue working with federal officials.
A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.