Border leaders file suit against Homeland Security

McALLEN -- Elected officials and business leaders along Texas' border with Mexico sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Friday, claiming DHS failed to follow federal land acquisition rules in preparing to build the border fence.

"This was the last resort - we could not get the necessary consultation," said Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster. "We're trying to get DHS to operate by the rules."

Foster is chairman of the Texas Border Coalition, a group of border mayors, county judges and local economic development officials that advocates on behalf of communities along the Texas-Mexico border on issues that affect the quality of life in the region.

The coalition filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleging DHS and U.S. Customs and Border Protection failed to adequately consult with Texas landowners and negotiate in good faith to reach "reasonable" sale prices for their properties.

The group is seeking an injunction to halt construction of the fence, along with class-action status to represent landowners along the Texas-Mexico border.

A Homeland Security spokeswoman would not comment on the lawsuit but did address the government's dealings with landowners.

"We've nearly bent over backward to work with landowners. Accusations to the contrary are either ill-informed or just plain wrong," Laura Keehner said in a statement, citing a series of public meetings convened in the region.

Homeland Security has taken to court hundreds of landowners along the U.S.-Mexico border - mostly in Texas - since fence construction began last year.

However, the coalition's lawsuit alleges certain "wealthy and politically connected" landowners have been given preferential treatment.

Foster attributed that position to the group's attorney, Peter Schey, president of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law in Los Angeles.

"In his opinion it's been somewhat skewed," Foster said. "I think he may be on to something."

Schey, who represents a group of Rio Grande Valley landowners in a separate border fence lawsuit, did not return a phone call Friday seeking comment.

Keehner dismissed the claim.

"There is nothing new here," she said in a telephone interview. "Our operators tell us where to build the fence - there is nothing political about this."

Homeland Security plans call for 370 miles of fence and 300 miles of vehicle barriers to be built along the U.S.-Mexico border by the end of this year. As of last month, 309 miles of fence had been erected, with the majority of the remaining fence planned for the Valley.

The coalition's lawsuit adds weight to a growing legal charge against the border fence. Besides Schey's clients, environmental groups the Sierra Club and Defense of Wildlife have also filed lawsuits against the federal government.

Earlier this year Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff waived more than 30 laws - mostly pertaining to environmental protection - to expedite border fence construction. Congress granted Chertoff the necessary authority in 2005, but he has taken heavy criticism from U.S. House Democrats since exercising that authority.
____

James Osborne covers McAllen and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4428.