Texas Town Leader Fights Border Fence

Eagle Pass Mayor, Residents Group Says Federal Government "Abusing Our Liberties"

(CBS/AP)  Eagle Pass is a border town that prides itself on being both Texan and Mexican, a community with many cultural and financial ties that bind it to Piedras Negras, its sister city across the Rio Grande.

But the U.S. government's proposal to build a giant fence along the border threatens to remake the landscape in the name of national security, undermining the relationship between the two cities and, some say, permanently scarring the riverfront.

Local leaders and residents who are fighting the fence have become increasingly frustrated with what they regard as the federal government's heavy-handed tactics, which include threatening letters, lawsuits and swift legal judgments.

"They come in here like storm troopers," Mayor Chad Foster said. "They are steamrolling the people and abusing our liberties and are absolutely out of control."

Residents of Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, a Mexican city of 143,000 people with an American-style football stadium, cross the river in both directions all the time to work, shop or visit relatives. When a tornado damaged both communities last spring, Piedras Negras sent dump trucks and front-end loaders to help Eagle Pass clean up.

The twin cultures are on display throughout Eagle Pass: On historic Main Street, the stucco Gran Mercado - a Mexican-style general store - stands near the Popular Western Wear store. Elsewhere, a car with a license plate from the Mexican state of Coahuila displays a sticker that offers solidarity for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks: "9-11-01. We'll never forget."

A two-story steel wall, if built, would cut Eagle Pass residents off from a park and a golf course on the banks of the Rio Grande. And although bridges will still span the river here, the wall could sever Eagle Pass psychologically from Piedras Negras.

Eagle Pass was the first community to be hit with a lawsuit after the federal government began demanding access to the land to survey it for the fence. A federal judge ruled in favor of the government Jan. 16, the same day the complaint was filed and before city officials had even been served with legal papers.

"Other than trying to make an example out of us, we don't understand what their issue is," said Foster, who suspects his leadership of an anti-fence group called the Texas Border Coalition might have something to do with it.

Eagle Pass leaders had already agreed to allow the Border Patrol to remove giant weeds that can provide hiding places on the riverbank; to widen a golf cart path to support Border Patrol trucks; and to install towers that would bathe the golf course and park in light around the clock.

"No one worries about border security more than the people who live here," said Foster, a bilingual real estate agent who cuts a cowboy-like profile with boots, a beige Stetson and a steady supply of Marlboros.

The river at Eagle Pass is about 280 feet wide and a muddy 8 1/2 feet deep - too deep to wade, and too dangerous for many people to swim.

The fence, as proposed, would be built to withstand the crash of a 10,000-pound vehicle at 40 mph. The barrier would bisect a property slated for a new riverfront housing development and cut in front of the park and golf course, slicing through the grounds of a historic fort built in 1849.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection hopes to construct 670 of fence across the 2,000-mile border by the end of the year. Agency spokesman Michael Friel said of the roughly 600 border landowners contacted nationwide, about 100 refused to grant permission to survey their property.

The resistance was particularly strong in Texas. The Justice Department has filed about 50 lawsuits against landowners - 35 in the heavily populated Rio Grande Valley, a dozen in Arizona and two in California.

The Eagle Pass mayor said his city never refused to allow customs officials to look at the land.

Friel declined to comment on any specific complaints but said lawsuits were a last resort. He also noted that the exact location of the fence has yet to be decided and that gates or other access could be granted for landowners with property between the fence and the river.

A fence "has proven to be an effective tool" for securing the border, said Friel, citing barriers in San Diego, El Paso and Nogales, Arizona.

Local officials and residents say the fence will not work without other reforms, such as a guest-worker program for Mexicans. The economic draw of the U.S. is too strong, they say, and the fence will cover only a third of the border.

"There's no way this is not going to be very detrimental to us," said John Stockley, a 74-year-old native of Eagle Pass. "I keep thinking if we took this money that's going to be spent not just here, all along the border, and put it into the Mexican economy, we'd probably have people going back the other way."

Meanwhile, a lawsuit was filed Tuesday over a Dallas suburb's latest effort to keep out illegal immigrants by barring home rentals to people who can't prove their legal status.

The suit, filed on behalf of real estate broker Guillermo Ramos, alleges the Farmers Branch City Council violated the Texas Open Meetings Act when it drafted and approved the new rule late last month.

Ramos believes "it's high time that a court give them some strict instruction as to what their obligations are," said his attorney, William A. Brewer III.

The law requires prospective tenants to get a city license to rent houses and apartments. It was set to take effect 15 days after a ruling on a similar ordinance currently being contested in court.

Opponents allege that while the council was supposed to discuss legal challenges against a previous ordinance, it actually drafted a new, more sweeping anti-illegal immigration measure behind closed doors, according to the suit.

City spokesman Tom Bryson did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the suit Tuesday.

There also were only a few days for residents to analyze and deliberate the proposal, opponents say.

Council members didn't announce until five days before they were to meet that a new ordinance had been drawn up. It wasn't posted on the city's Web site until the Friday before the council met. The following Tuesday, the council approved the measure unanimously, without changing a word of the proposal.

[gwaring]

He should be tried for treason.

[mm334]

John Stockley''s quote above about pouring money into Mexican economy instead of a fence does not make any sense either. The illegal aliens are crossing the border every day,not just Mexicans but all people who come up through Mexico and get into the US. This is one way the terrorists are getting into our country for lack of border control. A border fence is the answer. Our own econonmy is weak right now, we can''t and should not support another''s economy. This fence should have been done years ago, and it is about time they are allowed to work on it to keep illegals out of our country.

[klingon69]

Now these two make sense!
Posted by SgtRDS at 01:27 PM : Feb 06, 2008
Of course they do to you. These are things you''ve been supporting since I first came on these boards. You''ve already said when your wife(nurse) retires, that you and her plan to move to Mexico.
A path to citizenship, why? What have these invaders done that should be rewarded with amnesty and future citizenship? Don''t lay on about the wonderful ethnic foods in and around your neighborhood. I also know tht deporting them is not the answer, since the costs would be detrimental.
What needs to happen, is to contact your senator and representatives, and demand that the laws be enforced as on the books. Then and only then will you see a curbing of the illegal invasion of the US.
BTW, whats for dinner?

[klingon69]

Posted by RowdyTexan2 at 01:25 PM : Feb 06, 2008
You left out the 5th possibility.
American citizens, exhausted by the constant flow of illegal aliens, drugs, gangs...etc decide to take the law into their own hands and start hunting down the border jumpers. Trouble with that is that alot of innocent people will be hurt and/or killed. On sight, it is impossible to distinguish an illegal alien from an American citizen of hispanic descent.
If the government would enforce the laws as written, the problem would resolve itself.

[klingon69]

It seems that Arizona has the right idea. If you are caught hiring an illegal you lose your business license for a period of time. You gat caught a second time and you lose it permanently. Illegals are leaving Arizona Their economy is not falling apart as many have suggested. What we need is a national policy that mirrors Arizona%u2019s.
Posted by three-o-six at 01:24 PM : Feb 06, 2008
The immigration laws of 1986 include enforcement of employer punishments. However, these laws are not enforced.
Much like the gun laws on the books, they are not properly enforced.

[klingon69]

I would think that the GOP would be supporting this Mayor all the way. After all this is a classic example of the federal government stomping all over states rights. Or do they only support states rights when they want to ban abortion or keep Jim Crow laws in place?
Posted by SgtRDS at 10:42 AM : Feb 06, 2008
The federal government has been usurping states rights since the 1860s.

[quetzal0666]

AZTLAN!!!!!!

[displeased]

Why don''t we just build a wall around the entire country? That should keep the terrorists out. Then the paranoid can sleep at night.

There are certainly more effective ways to deal with this immigration problem. And as far as terrorists, they have money and will find better ways of entering this country other than hiking through the deserts of Mexico.

[underdogus]

whine,whine,whine...get off yer arss you lazy bums!! go and start picking tomatoes yer B.astards..................waiting...hello????

[stupidrules3]

Roadking,
Sgt RDS is NOT an illegal. He lives in a town of 600 in Michigan. He wants to extend unemployment benefits for people who can''t find work. That''s good because I know several construction workers who need it because they are out of jobs because they can''t compete with unlicensed Mexican construction businesses who don''t pay taxes, workman''s comp, unemployment insurance, etc. I guess in a town of 600, there aren''t many illegals because there isn''t a lot of work for them.

[stupidrules3]

Okay SgtRDS, you win. I will no longer call them illegals. I will call them Mexican criminals because the very fact they are in our country is a violation of US immigration laws.

[KathyRay42]

How can you "Fight the WAR on TERROR" when we leave the backdoor open??? ..Fly into Mexico..toss the Turbin and CROSS over.. THIS is McCAINS way of doing things... so much for his Military Background..

Besides, I''m sick of PAYING for ILLEGALS.. VIA Property Tax.. School Tax... Hospital TAX..AND ALL OTHER SOCIAL SERVICES..

[underdogus]

bhappy2-2 at ..the drunken indian from Arizona.

[sgtrds]

It is not illegal for them to be people but it is illegal for them to be here in the USA.

Posted by stupidrules3 at 07:42 PM : Feb 06, 2008

It''s not just semantics. It''s not possible for a person to be illegal, so calling them illegal is offensive, insulting and wrong. It''s like when people used to refer to children born our of wedlock as illegitimate. It''s not possible for a child to be illegitimate. A person can not be an illegal person.

[stupidrules3]

SgtRDS,
Why argue semantics? I said illegals (illegal immigrants) meaning they immigrated here illegally (that means in violation of our immigration laws). It is not illegal for them to be people but it is illegal for them to be here in the USA.

[sgtrds]

This would start a stampede of illegals (undocumented immigrants for you politically correct idiots) back to Mexico.

Posted by stupidrules3 at 07:27 PM : Feb 06, 2008

Actually it''s undocumented workers. It''s not possible for a person to be legal or illegal. In fact I don''t know a single place in the whole world where it''s illegal to be a person.

[bhappy2-2]

If the people of Eagle Pass don''t want the fence between them and their ILLEGAL ALIEN INVADERS just move the fence north and fence them into their ILLEGAL ALIEN INVADERS back yard. They love them so much let them live with them.

[stupidrules3]

How many of you noticed that Mayor Chad is a real estate agent? He''s upset because their riverfront development has been ruined and he will not make the commissions he was drooling over for condo sales. Let the workers come but give them greencards as they cross the border...legally. Anyone hiring an illegal should be fined harshly and repeat offenders closed permanently. This would start a stampede of illegals (undocumented immigrants for you politically correct idiots) back to Mexico. The Mexican government would soil their pants because the whole country would be at the border trying to get here. As for helping the Mexican economy....hasn''t NAFTA done that? We encourage our corporations to go there and pay them sweatshop wages and their corrupt government takes the payoffs and allows the exploitation of Mexican workers. No wonder they want to come here.

[korinsha]

The flood of illegals will never stop. Want to know why? Racism.

Too many Yanks assume that illegal=non-white, non-English-speaking. WRONG! While America focuses it''s Nazi-era-like hate on Hispanics... illegals like ME fly under the radar.

Illegals like ME... meaning I am young, pretty, white, educated, and speak with no discernable accent. I don''t pick cherries. I take high-paying, white-collar jobs and I make great money.

I find it highly amusing and ironic that people sit around me at Starbucks reading the news saying "This criminal is Mexican-looking, he must be illegal! You and me gotta put a stop to this!" Then me, and my illegal family, and my illegal self nod sagely and agree... then go home laughing our butts off.

So, thank you racist Americans, for making being a white illegal very very VERY easy. Couldn''t do it without you, the racist people!

P.S. LoL!

[sgtrds]

Amnesty, but with a real path to citizenship. All undocumented workers that are here should have to pass a criminal background check, learn conversational English, wait 5 years on a green card and then take the citizenship test and become full-fledged citizens.