An anti-illegal immigration group in San Diego has settled a lawsuit claiming the state violated its free-speech rights by removing its Adopt-A-Highway privileges near the Mexican border.
A federal court settlement Monday allows the San Diego Minutemen to continue trash cleanups on Interstate 5 near a San Clemente border checkpoint and to retain its name on a nearby freeway sign.
The Minutemen also will receive more than $157,000 and an apology from the California Department of Transportation.
The group sued after the agency shifted its volunteer cleanups and sign to a more remote highway following complaints from immigration activists. A judge last year ordered the transportation department to restore the group's sign and permit to clean up the interstate
