AUSTIN — Brownsville is set to be the first site for a state lawmaker meeting scheduled to discuss border security.

The Texas Border Security Task Force plans to meet Oct. 30 in Brownsville.

The Mexican American Legislative Caucus formed the 17-member task force to study how to keep Texas safe and to shed light on the needs of people affected by border security decisions, said state Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, chairman of MALC.

The task force is also scheduled to meet in Houston, Del Rio, Laredo and El Paso before March.

State Rep. Rene Oliveira, D-Brownsville, a member of the task force, wants the group to collect facts to present to other lawmakers in Austin about the border economy and border security. He doesn’t want the hearings to turn into a protest of the proposed border fence, which is a federal issue, but he does think the issue deserves some attention, he said.

“I’m still not convinced that it’s a done deal until they lift over that first spade of dirt,” Oliveira said.

The hearings are separate from Gov. Rick Perry’s Border Security Council, the 11-member group led by Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos that is set to advise Perry on how to spend more than $50 million in border security money.

The Border Security Council met Monday in McAllen, and has meetings scheduled for Tuesday in Laredo and Wednesday in El Paso.

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Elizabeth Pierson Hernandez covers the state capital for Valley Freedom Newspapers. She is based in Austin and can be reached at (512) 323-0622.