Border fence lawsuits don’t dull fight

McALLEN — Local leaders said they would continue to fight the border fence Wednesday, even as the federal government continued to file lawsuits seeking access to land along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“I’m very disappointed the federal government has decided to sue instead of negotiating,” said Steve Ahlenius, president of the McAllen Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Texas Border Coalition, a group of border mayors, county judges and local economic development officials that opposes the border fence.

“In the case of Eagle Pass, it’s very important the city challenges it. We are a democratic society and we do have the opportunity to seek justice through the court system.”

The city of Eagle Pass, about 250 miles northwest of here, had the distinction of being the first property owner in the country to be sued over the fence. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas filed a condemnation suit in federal court Monday to gain access to 233 acres owned by the city.

That same day a U.S. District Court judge in Del Rio, Alia Moses Ludlum, ordered Eagle Pass to turn over the land, according to court documents.

Since then, six more lawsuits have been filed against landowners in Arizona, said U.S. Justice Department spokesman Andrew Ames. Ames said he could not provide a timeline on when the remainder of the 102 landowners who have not complied, a number of whom are located in the Rio Grande Valley, could expect to be served.

“There’s no reason or strategy. It’s a matter of these cases are ready to be filed,” he said.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff warned Dec. 7 that landowners along the border had 30 days to allow federal surveyors on their land or be taken to court.

“(The U.S. Department of Homeland Security) has sent the letters to the landowners,” Ames said. “The 30 days has passed and DHS sent it over to us.”

Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster, chairman of the Texas Border Coalition, said he was surprised by the litigation because no city official had denied the federal government access to city property, including a 30-acre municipal park and golf course that abuts the Rio Grande.

“Our attorneys are trying to get back with their contacts in the government,” Foster said.

“Their only explanation is the left hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing.”

Monica Weisberg-Stewart, chairwoman of the border coalition’s immigration committee, was even stronger in her assessment of the judge’s ruling.

“Even in the most egregious eminent domain cases, the party whose land is being taken is given his or her day in court,” Weisberg-Stewart wrote in a news release.

“The people of Texas should be outraged by the sneaky, underhanded methods used by the Department of Homeland Security.”

Judge Moses was not available for comment.

At least one principal opponent of the border fence is already out of the fight.

The Brownsville City Commission has decided to allow Homeland Security access to the city’s land despite months of opposition to the fence from Mayor Pat Ahumada.

“We didn’t want to risk our relationship with the (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers),” Commissioner Ricardo Longoria said.

“We’re depending on them for our resaca restoration project.”

For the time being, the remaining opponents of the fence are expected to continue with their protest.

The lawsuits come as support for the border fence was appearing to wane. What had seemed an inevitability only two months ago seemed less so after U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, passed legislation giving Homeland Security more discretion in where and how much fence is built, Ahlenius said.

Hidalgo County officials remain optimistic that their proposal for a combined fence/levee system will eventually be accepted by the federal government, despite the concept’s dismissal in a Homeland Security study late last year.

“From the meetings with DHS we’ve been having, it seems our hydraulic structure plan is gathering a little steam,” said county spokeswoman Cari Lambrecht.

“The decision is going to come out in the next month or two.”

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Brownsville Herald staff writer Kevin Sieff contributed to this report.

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