Associated Press / Brownsville Herald
November 12, 2008
(AP) - A federal judge will soon decide whether private landowners along the Rio Grande will have juries of their peers or a court-appointed panel of land experts decide how much the federal government owes them for land it takes to build the border fence.
The first trials are scheduled to begin in March, but U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen's decision - expected in coming weeks could mean the difference in thousands of dollars to people who have to turn over their property to the federal government for the fence.
Advocates for the property owners say that jury trials would be their first chance to make their case in a process that has left them virtually powerless.
Of the 670 miles of fencing the Department of Homeland Security plans to build along the U.S.-Mexico border, the staunchest opposition arose in the Rio Grande Valley where rich agricultural land, in many cases passed down over 200 years, runs to the banks of the Rio Grande.
The Justice Department expects to have about 270 condemnation lawsuits against Valley landowners. Most have settled, but federal lawyers expect that about 80 holdouts could carry their cases all the way to trial.
The government opposes jury trials, warning Hanen in a brief that such a plan could drag out the cases for more than a year, clogging an already busy court system. Construction of the fence will continue on schedule, as these lawsuits only determine how much the landowner will be reimbursed.
In some cases, visits to the condemned land are necessary and the government argues this could be more efficiently done by a three-member commission. It could also be hard to find enough open-minded jurors in a region with such widespread disapproval of the border fence, the brief said. A commission of experts however, would accelerate the process and be more likely to offer consistent payments to landowners, government lawyers said.
"In the absence of a commission, each jury verdict may be vastly different from another; landowners have every incentive to hold out for trial, proffer inflated values, and hope for the best," Assistant U.S. Attorney Paxton Warner wrote.
Private attorneys have a different view.
Court-appointed land commissioners typically have real estate backgrounds. Eddie Vassallo, a Dallas lawyer who has spent nearly 40 years handling condemnation cases, said they come to a case with preconceived opinions about land value, where a jury makes an independent decision.
"There's an inbuilt prejudice to this," said Eddie Vassallo, a Dallas-based attorney who has been handling condemnation cases for 39 years, noting that the government has the upper hand in deciding it needs a citizen's land and when it needs it.
Michael Rosen, a Tampa, Fla. eminent domain attorney, has worked both sides of condemnation cases.
"The federal system is very unfriendly (for landowners)," Rosen said. "If you go before a commission and they're hearing a thousand cases, the commissioners are less likely to listen to the property owner that has the case further down the line."
Rosen and Vassallo both said land commissions generally award less money than juries. The government prefers this, since taxpayers will be footing the bill.
Kimberli Loessin, a Houston attorney representing several Valley landowners, said Hanen shouldn't be worried about the case dragging on.
"We believe the reality is that not every lawsuit filed will result in a trial and many cases can and will be tried together," Loessin said by e-mail. "These cases can be efficiently tried before juries." Vassallo said every one or two cases that go to trial lead to dozens more being settled.
Loessin said the government has already streamlined a process that was heavily stacked in its favor to start. In April, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff waived a host of environmental laws that outlined a rigorous study and approval process for the border fence.
Hanen has been sympathetic to landowners. While he has consistently ruled in the government's favor on border fence cases, his approach has been far more deliberate than the government would have liked. He gave landowners an opportunity to appear in court and voice their concerns even when the law did not require it.
"This is the only time in a federal (eminent domain) case where the landowner has any say-so in what happens to them," Vassallo said.
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/compensation_91715___article.html/decide_hope.html
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
‘Walk the Line’ leaves out property owners
Brownsville Herald
November 10, 2008
A government-sponsored program that once promised to answer lingering questions about the border fence will now exclude individual property owners.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Texas Border Coalition, a group of elected officials and community leaders from the Texas border, began planning the series of on-the-ground consultations - dubbed Walk the Line - in April.
"We expect to get input from the people who live in these areas," Angela de Rocha, a DHS spokeswoman, told The Brownsville Herald in early October. "We're still planning community outreach even though we've begun awarding contracts."
But in a Nov. 4 letter to TBC, David Pagan, an advisor to the Customs and Border Protection commissioner, wrote that, "CBP cannot support including parties beyond immediate TBC members in the fence tours, with the possible exception of interested state and federal elected officials."
If the meeting was open to the public, Pagan wrote, consultations could devolve into a forum for local opposition to the fence. And pending land condemnation lawsuits would likely color the interactions between government officials and local landowners, restricting the breadth of consultations.
Many Valley landowners - who saw Walk the Line as their last chance to clarify key concerns about the project - are embittered by the government's change of heart.
Landowner Pamela Taylor is still unsure how she'll access her property once the 18-foot steel barrier is erected north of her home. It's a question she planned to ask the fence's planners during Walk the Line.
"It's a simple courtesy," Taylor said. "All we wanted was some honesty."
TBC officials are also disappointed by what they see as a betrayal of the program's original intentions.
"TBC is dumbfounded by CBP's continued resistance to consultation with local landowners and the community, and by CBP's unjustifiable demands for secrecy," Eagle Pass Mayor and TBC Chairman Chad Foster said.
In September, Congress approved DHS' $400 million appropriations request, allowing the government to continue work on the border fence after the project had exhausted its initial budget.
In his letter approving the request, Rep. David Price, D-N.C., chairman of the homeland security subcommittee, asked Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to improve consultation and assessment in disputed border areas.
Initially, landowners like Taylor saw Walk the Line as a response to Price's suggestion - a chance to ask questions before the fence alters lives along the Rio Grande. Now, they're unsure where the answers will come from.
"We're so afraid we're going to be left vulnerable," Taylor said.
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/border_91659___article.html/fence_tbc.html
November 10, 2008
A government-sponsored program that once promised to answer lingering questions about the border fence will now exclude individual property owners.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Texas Border Coalition, a group of elected officials and community leaders from the Texas border, began planning the series of on-the-ground consultations - dubbed Walk the Line - in April.
"We expect to get input from the people who live in these areas," Angela de Rocha, a DHS spokeswoman, told The Brownsville Herald in early October. "We're still planning community outreach even though we've begun awarding contracts."
But in a Nov. 4 letter to TBC, David Pagan, an advisor to the Customs and Border Protection commissioner, wrote that, "CBP cannot support including parties beyond immediate TBC members in the fence tours, with the possible exception of interested state and federal elected officials."
If the meeting was open to the public, Pagan wrote, consultations could devolve into a forum for local opposition to the fence. And pending land condemnation lawsuits would likely color the interactions between government officials and local landowners, restricting the breadth of consultations.
Many Valley landowners - who saw Walk the Line as their last chance to clarify key concerns about the project - are embittered by the government's change of heart.
Landowner Pamela Taylor is still unsure how she'll access her property once the 18-foot steel barrier is erected north of her home. It's a question she planned to ask the fence's planners during Walk the Line.
"It's a simple courtesy," Taylor said. "All we wanted was some honesty."
TBC officials are also disappointed by what they see as a betrayal of the program's original intentions.
"TBC is dumbfounded by CBP's continued resistance to consultation with local landowners and the community, and by CBP's unjustifiable demands for secrecy," Eagle Pass Mayor and TBC Chairman Chad Foster said.
In September, Congress approved DHS' $400 million appropriations request, allowing the government to continue work on the border fence after the project had exhausted its initial budget.
In his letter approving the request, Rep. David Price, D-N.C., chairman of the homeland security subcommittee, asked Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to improve consultation and assessment in disputed border areas.
Initially, landowners like Taylor saw Walk the Line as a response to Price's suggestion - a chance to ask questions before the fence alters lives along the Rio Grande. Now, they're unsure where the answers will come from.
"We're so afraid we're going to be left vulnerable," Taylor said.
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/border_91659___article.html/fence_tbc.html
Saturday, November 8, 2008
U.S. Customs and Border Protection delays building sections of fence
San Antonio Express-News
November 8, 2008
BROWNSVILLE — U.S. Customs and Border Protection is putting off construction of 14 miles of border fence in what Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, said Friday is an indication parts of the fence in Texas may not stand under the next administration.
But CBP spokeswoman Angela de Rocha said the decision was made because of engineering difficulties presented by the Rio Grande flood plain and has nothing to do with politics. She said the areas are documented as high-traffic spots for drugs and unauthorized immigration and that the need for a fence wouldn't change.
“There is a law-enforcement need for fence there,” de Rocha said. “Those segments have been delayed, but we still intend to install tactical infrastructure there.”
She said other means of heightened security, such as increased Border Patrol and technology, would be used until the engineering problems have been resolved.
Cuellar, who sits on a subcommittee on the House of Representatives' Committee of Homeland Security, said he was told the decision to defer segments in Starr and Hidalgo counties was made weeks ago, but not shared until Friday.
“They have decided to defer this to the end of the year and let the new administration deal with the issue, is the way I read it,” Cuellar said. “For us, having (President-elect Barack) Obama in, the new homeland security secretary in — we welcome the opportunity to sit down with them and say there's other ways we can provide security.”
The three segments include portions in Rio Grande City, Roma and Los Ebanos totaling 14.36 miles.
While CBP is committed to completing 370 miles of pedestrian fencing by the end of the calendar year, construction in Texas has lagged under fierce opposition.
Government lawyers have been forced to take some private landowners to court in eminent-domain lawsuits and CBP has made high-profile concessions with Hidalgo County and the University of Texas-Brownsville.
To date, CBP has completed about 216 miles of pedestrian fence along the Southwest border.
De Rocha said contracts have been let for all but 20 miles of planned fencing.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/state/34128119.html
November 8, 2008
BROWNSVILLE — U.S. Customs and Border Protection is putting off construction of 14 miles of border fence in what Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, said Friday is an indication parts of the fence in Texas may not stand under the next administration.
But CBP spokeswoman Angela de Rocha said the decision was made because of engineering difficulties presented by the Rio Grande flood plain and has nothing to do with politics. She said the areas are documented as high-traffic spots for drugs and unauthorized immigration and that the need for a fence wouldn't change.
“There is a law-enforcement need for fence there,” de Rocha said. “Those segments have been delayed, but we still intend to install tactical infrastructure there.”
She said other means of heightened security, such as increased Border Patrol and technology, would be used until the engineering problems have been resolved.
Cuellar, who sits on a subcommittee on the House of Representatives' Committee of Homeland Security, said he was told the decision to defer segments in Starr and Hidalgo counties was made weeks ago, but not shared until Friday.
“They have decided to defer this to the end of the year and let the new administration deal with the issue, is the way I read it,” Cuellar said. “For us, having (President-elect Barack) Obama in, the new homeland security secretary in — we welcome the opportunity to sit down with them and say there's other ways we can provide security.”
The three segments include portions in Rio Grande City, Roma and Los Ebanos totaling 14.36 miles.
While CBP is committed to completing 370 miles of pedestrian fencing by the end of the calendar year, construction in Texas has lagged under fierce opposition.
Government lawyers have been forced to take some private landowners to court in eminent-domain lawsuits and CBP has made high-profile concessions with Hidalgo County and the University of Texas-Brownsville.
To date, CBP has completed about 216 miles of pedestrian fence along the Southwest border.
De Rocha said contracts have been let for all but 20 miles of planned fencing.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/state/34128119.html
Cuellar: CBP halts border fence construction in three Valley segments
Rio Grande Guardian
November 7, 2008
LOS EBANOS, November 7 - The Bush Administration has decided not to move forward with construction of the border fence in three parts of the Rio Grande Valley for the rest of the year, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar has announced.
Customs and Border Protection had wanted to erect almost four miles of “movable” fencing in Roma, almost nine miles of fencing in Rio Grande City, and just less than two miles of fencing in Los Ebanos.
“It’s not going to happen. Customs and Border Protection has decided not to move forward with their plans for the rest of the year. The reason they gave was engineering and hydraulic concerns,” Cuellar told the Guardian on Friday evening.
Roma, Rio Grande City and Los Ebanos are in Cuellar’s district. Other border counties in Cuellar’s district, such as Zapata and Webb, were not slated to get a border fence. Asked for his reaction to the news, Cuellar said: “This is a big victory.”
The reason CBP wanted to erect movable fences in Roma, Rio Grande City and Los Ebanos was due to concerns that a permanent fence could cause flooding on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande during a hurricane or tropical storm. If that had happened an international treaty with Mexico would have been violated.
Cuellar said that before his untimely death in a plane crash in September, Carlos Marin, head of the U.S. section of the International Boundary and Water Commission, had insisted that CBP do not proceed with any fencing in Roma, Rio Grande City, or Los Ebanos that would have increased the chances of flooding in Mexico.
“Carlos Marin, may he rest in peace, spoke about this often to me and his argument has prevailed. He was pretty adamant that no fence be built that could cause flooding and his words have come ringing through now,” Cuellar said.
“The IBWC wanted assurances that a physical barrier could be moved at short notice during the threat of a tropical storm or hurricane. He was concerned about flooding on the Mexican side.”
Cuellar said CBP’s decision not to proceed with fencing in Roma, Rio Grande City or Los Ebanos would allow he and other border lawmakers an opportunity to sit down with the next U.S. president and the next secretary of the Homeland Security to talk about alternatives to a border fence.
“Although, CBP says it will not move forward with the fence for the rest of this year, it really means they will not move forward until after the Obama administration is in office. They are going to wait,” Obama said.
Cuellar is a member of the House Homeland Security Committee. He said he asked CBP to hold off on awarding contracts to build the border fence until the next administration takes office when agency officials appeared at a Homeland Security Committee hearing in September.
“Perhaps they have taken notice. We need to revisit the whole issue of border fencing again. We were told the fencing would cost $3 million per mile and now we learn it is going to cost $7 million a mile,” Cuellar said.
“It is time to look at alternative proposals and I plan to meet with Border Patrol on Monday to talk about sensors, cameras, more Border Patrol agents.”Asked if CBP should look again at its border fencing plans in the districts of other border members of Congress, Cuellar said: “Absolutely.”
Scott Nicol, a spokesman for the No Border Wall group, applauded CBP’s decision not to proceed with border fencing in Roma, Rio Grande City and Los Ebanos.
“It is our hope that this will be made permanent by the new administration,” Nicol told the Guardian. “We believe that Cameron County and the rest of the border which is slated for wall construction before the end of Secretary Chertoff’s tenure should also be spared.”
Nicol pointed out that the border fence plan has already led to the condemnation of farmland and municipal property. He said the “walls” that are currently under construction are “devastating” wildlife refuges and “destabilizing” South Texas’ flood control levees.
“$3 billion has been wasted on walls that the Border Patrol says only slow crossers by a few minutes,” Nicol said. “With two wars, a deepening financial crisis, and trillions of dollars of debt, our nation cannot afford to throw more money into this bottomless pit.”
Nicol said the No Border Wall group is hopeful that the decision to spare the communities of Roma, Rio Grande City, and Los Ebanos signals the beginning of a “sane” border policy on the part of the Department of Homeland Security and the Bush administration.
“The border wall is nothing more than a political prop, a backdrop for politicians who want to look tough on national security. With the election behind us, it is time to move beyond hollow symbols,” Nicol said.
Nicol said the No Border Wall coalition is now calling on President-elect Obama to appoint a new secretary of Homeland Security who will “reject Michael Chertoff’s failures and refuse to play politics with the lives and property of border residents.”
Obama should enact a moratorium on further border wall construction until a non-partisan organization such as the Government Accountability Office can review both the impacts of the walls that have already been built and the foreseeable impacts of proposed walls, Nicol added.
http://www.riograndeguardian.com/rggnews_story.asp?story_no=18
November 7, 2008
LOS EBANOS, November 7 - The Bush Administration has decided not to move forward with construction of the border fence in three parts of the Rio Grande Valley for the rest of the year, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar has announced.
Customs and Border Protection had wanted to erect almost four miles of “movable” fencing in Roma, almost nine miles of fencing in Rio Grande City, and just less than two miles of fencing in Los Ebanos.
“It’s not going to happen. Customs and Border Protection has decided not to move forward with their plans for the rest of the year. The reason they gave was engineering and hydraulic concerns,” Cuellar told the Guardian on Friday evening.
Roma, Rio Grande City and Los Ebanos are in Cuellar’s district. Other border counties in Cuellar’s district, such as Zapata and Webb, were not slated to get a border fence. Asked for his reaction to the news, Cuellar said: “This is a big victory.”
The reason CBP wanted to erect movable fences in Roma, Rio Grande City and Los Ebanos was due to concerns that a permanent fence could cause flooding on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande during a hurricane or tropical storm. If that had happened an international treaty with Mexico would have been violated.
Cuellar said that before his untimely death in a plane crash in September, Carlos Marin, head of the U.S. section of the International Boundary and Water Commission, had insisted that CBP do not proceed with any fencing in Roma, Rio Grande City, or Los Ebanos that would have increased the chances of flooding in Mexico.
“Carlos Marin, may he rest in peace, spoke about this often to me and his argument has prevailed. He was pretty adamant that no fence be built that could cause flooding and his words have come ringing through now,” Cuellar said.
“The IBWC wanted assurances that a physical barrier could be moved at short notice during the threat of a tropical storm or hurricane. He was concerned about flooding on the Mexican side.”
Cuellar said CBP’s decision not to proceed with fencing in Roma, Rio Grande City or Los Ebanos would allow he and other border lawmakers an opportunity to sit down with the next U.S. president and the next secretary of the Homeland Security to talk about alternatives to a border fence.
“Although, CBP says it will not move forward with the fence for the rest of this year, it really means they will not move forward until after the Obama administration is in office. They are going to wait,” Obama said.
Cuellar is a member of the House Homeland Security Committee. He said he asked CBP to hold off on awarding contracts to build the border fence until the next administration takes office when agency officials appeared at a Homeland Security Committee hearing in September.
“Perhaps they have taken notice. We need to revisit the whole issue of border fencing again. We were told the fencing would cost $3 million per mile and now we learn it is going to cost $7 million a mile,” Cuellar said.
“It is time to look at alternative proposals and I plan to meet with Border Patrol on Monday to talk about sensors, cameras, more Border Patrol agents.”Asked if CBP should look again at its border fencing plans in the districts of other border members of Congress, Cuellar said: “Absolutely.”
Scott Nicol, a spokesman for the No Border Wall group, applauded CBP’s decision not to proceed with border fencing in Roma, Rio Grande City and Los Ebanos.
“It is our hope that this will be made permanent by the new administration,” Nicol told the Guardian. “We believe that Cameron County and the rest of the border which is slated for wall construction before the end of Secretary Chertoff’s tenure should also be spared.”
Nicol pointed out that the border fence plan has already led to the condemnation of farmland and municipal property. He said the “walls” that are currently under construction are “devastating” wildlife refuges and “destabilizing” South Texas’ flood control levees.
“$3 billion has been wasted on walls that the Border Patrol says only slow crossers by a few minutes,” Nicol said. “With two wars, a deepening financial crisis, and trillions of dollars of debt, our nation cannot afford to throw more money into this bottomless pit.”
Nicol said the No Border Wall group is hopeful that the decision to spare the communities of Roma, Rio Grande City, and Los Ebanos signals the beginning of a “sane” border policy on the part of the Department of Homeland Security and the Bush administration.
“The border wall is nothing more than a political prop, a backdrop for politicians who want to look tough on national security. With the election behind us, it is time to move beyond hollow symbols,” Nicol said.
Nicol said the No Border Wall coalition is now calling on President-elect Obama to appoint a new secretary of Homeland Security who will “reject Michael Chertoff’s failures and refuse to play politics with the lives and property of border residents.”
Obama should enact a moratorium on further border wall construction until a non-partisan organization such as the Government Accountability Office can review both the impacts of the walls that have already been built and the foreseeable impacts of proposed walls, Nicol added.
http://www.riograndeguardian.com/rggnews_story.asp?story_no=18
Friday, November 7, 2008
Border Patrol halts building of 3 border walls
Associated Press / Houston Chronicle
November 7, 2008
DALLAS — Homeland Security officials have decided to halt building three segments of the border fence in the Rio Grande Valley for this year, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar said late Friday.
Concerns over the structure leading to more debris in the river and increasing the potential for flooding caused U.S. Customs and Border Protection to defer plans. The hydraulic issues of building in the river's flood plain had been highlighted by the International Boundary and Water Commission, Cuellar said.
The segments in Rio Grande City and Roma in Starr County and Los Ebanos in Hidalgo County add up to just over 14 miles, Cuellar said.
"I think the Valley will receive this as great news," he said.
The Department of Homeland Security planned to build "movable" fencing in the three areas, where communities abut the river. Los Ebanos, best-known for its historic hand-pulled ferry across the Rio Grande, would have been the most affected.
By stopping the project in those segments for now, Cuellar hopes it will allow for reassessment.
"We're hoping that this will allow us to work with the next president to find ... alternative methods for security," he said.
Questions about the border fence were referred to a CBP spokeswoman, who did not immediately respond to calls for comment Friday.
Cuellar, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said his office learned of CBP's decision Friday afternoon.
The No Border Wall Coalition praised the decision to stop construction, saying already-built portions of the project have destabilized flood control levees in South Texas.
"It is our hope that this will be made permanent by the new administration," the group said in a statement.
The government has built hundreds of miles of pedestrian fencing and vehicle barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Congress had called for 670 miles of barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border to be completed by the end of the year. But recently, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said having all the fence sections under contract by the end of the year is more likely.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6101349.html
November 7, 2008
DALLAS — Homeland Security officials have decided to halt building three segments of the border fence in the Rio Grande Valley for this year, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar said late Friday.
Concerns over the structure leading to more debris in the river and increasing the potential for flooding caused U.S. Customs and Border Protection to defer plans. The hydraulic issues of building in the river's flood plain had been highlighted by the International Boundary and Water Commission, Cuellar said.
The segments in Rio Grande City and Roma in Starr County and Los Ebanos in Hidalgo County add up to just over 14 miles, Cuellar said.
"I think the Valley will receive this as great news," he said.
The Department of Homeland Security planned to build "movable" fencing in the three areas, where communities abut the river. Los Ebanos, best-known for its historic hand-pulled ferry across the Rio Grande, would have been the most affected.
By stopping the project in those segments for now, Cuellar hopes it will allow for reassessment.
"We're hoping that this will allow us to work with the next president to find ... alternative methods for security," he said.
Questions about the border fence were referred to a CBP spokeswoman, who did not immediately respond to calls for comment Friday.
Cuellar, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said his office learned of CBP's decision Friday afternoon.
The No Border Wall Coalition praised the decision to stop construction, saying already-built portions of the project have destabilized flood control levees in South Texas.
"It is our hope that this will be made permanent by the new administration," the group said in a statement.
The government has built hundreds of miles of pedestrian fencing and vehicle barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Congress had called for 670 miles of barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border to be completed by the end of the year. But recently, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said having all the fence sections under contract by the end of the year is more likely.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6101349.html
Thursday, November 6, 2008
What will Barack’s victory mean for border fence?
Brownsville Herald
November 5, 2008
Will the presidential administration of Barack Obama derail the border fence set to soon run through Brownsville's backyard?
Probably not, according to academics and former policymakers. But South Texas landowners have not given up hope.
With the country embroiled in two wars and a devastating financial crisis, Obama - who voted for the fence in 2006 - is unlikely to upend the project, experts said. Construction will likely drag into the early days of Obama's administration.
"It's not politically palatable to say you're no longer for a fence," said Veronica Vargas Stidvent, director of the Center for Politics and Governance at the University of Texas' Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and former assistant Secretary of Labor under George W. Bush. "And it's difficult to stop a train once it gets going."
The fence's Congressionally mandated deadline is Dec. 31. If the barrier remains unfinished by that date - as appears increasingly likely - a new administration could theoretically step in to amend the project.
During a debate in Austin before the Texas Democratic primary, Obama spoke about the importance of consulting with communities along the border, "whether it's on the commercial interests or the environmental stakes of creating any kind of barrier."
When he spoke at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College on Feb. 29, he reiterated that point, saying the Bush administration had done a poor job of consulting with landowners, giving hope to those who have fought to keep the barrier off their properties. Since then, Obama rarely discussed the border fence during his run for the presidency.
"When he does begin to deal with this situation, I want to be treated fairly," said Eloisa Tamez, a landowner in El Calaboz. "I want him to appoint someone (as Homeland Security Secretary) who is willing to come talk with us."
Amending plans for the barrier's construction would require attention from a president whose resources will likely be spread thin, Vargas Stidvent said.
But that shouldn't preclude a revision of the border fence's flaws, opponents of the barrier say.
"While we are in the middle of a financial crisis and fighting two wars abroad, it is absurd to spend billions more on a border wall that does nothing to enhance our national security," said Scott Nicol of the No Border Wall group. "(The fence) instead necessitates the destruction of homes, farms and wildlife refuges, and causes the deaths of hundreds of migrant men, women and children each year. "
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/fence_91493___article.html/barrier_border.html
November 5, 2008
Will the presidential administration of Barack Obama derail the border fence set to soon run through Brownsville's backyard?
Probably not, according to academics and former policymakers. But South Texas landowners have not given up hope.
With the country embroiled in two wars and a devastating financial crisis, Obama - who voted for the fence in 2006 - is unlikely to upend the project, experts said. Construction will likely drag into the early days of Obama's administration.
"It's not politically palatable to say you're no longer for a fence," said Veronica Vargas Stidvent, director of the Center for Politics and Governance at the University of Texas' Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and former assistant Secretary of Labor under George W. Bush. "And it's difficult to stop a train once it gets going."
The fence's Congressionally mandated deadline is Dec. 31. If the barrier remains unfinished by that date - as appears increasingly likely - a new administration could theoretically step in to amend the project.
During a debate in Austin before the Texas Democratic primary, Obama spoke about the importance of consulting with communities along the border, "whether it's on the commercial interests or the environmental stakes of creating any kind of barrier."
When he spoke at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College on Feb. 29, he reiterated that point, saying the Bush administration had done a poor job of consulting with landowners, giving hope to those who have fought to keep the barrier off their properties. Since then, Obama rarely discussed the border fence during his run for the presidency.
"When he does begin to deal with this situation, I want to be treated fairly," said Eloisa Tamez, a landowner in El Calaboz. "I want him to appoint someone (as Homeland Security Secretary) who is willing to come talk with us."
Amending plans for the barrier's construction would require attention from a president whose resources will likely be spread thin, Vargas Stidvent said.
But that shouldn't preclude a revision of the border fence's flaws, opponents of the barrier say.
"While we are in the middle of a financial crisis and fighting two wars abroad, it is absurd to spend billions more on a border wall that does nothing to enhance our national security," said Scott Nicol of the No Border Wall group. "(The fence) instead necessitates the destruction of homes, farms and wildlife refuges, and causes the deaths of hundreds of migrant men, women and children each year. "
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/fence_91493___article.html/barrier_border.html
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Feds file more land condemnation suits for border fence project
The Monitor
October 30, 2008
BROWNSVILLE -- The federal government is moving forward with its plans to build the border fence in this area by filing land condemnation lawsuits involving nine Cameron County properties whose owners are unknown, deceased or unresponsive.
In South Texas, where land deeds are often convoluted or outdated, the legal action is a vital formality before construction on the barrier can begin.
"We're moving forward with our real estate proceedings," said Angela de Rocha, a spokeswoman for the U.S Department of Homeland Security.
In cases of unknown ownership, the government must run an advertisement in local newspapers, informing the public of pending lawsuits. The two-page ad ran in The Brownsville Herald's Thursday's edition, detailing several swaths of property throughout the county.
As of Sept. 10, a total of 97 landowners in the Rio Grande Valley had refused to sell their property to the federal government, according to a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Homeland Security officials say they have continued resolving cases but have also encountered a number of convoluted deeds.
U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen is slated to hear seven land condemnation lawsuits this morning - a fraction of the remaining cases.
After receiving its appropriation request from Congress, Homeland Security is continuing with its plans to complete the fence in the coming months.
But with so many pending condemnation lawsuits - and no sign of fence construction in Cameron County - the government's initial Dec. 31 deadline appears increasingly unrealistic.
http://www.themonitor.com/articles/government_19289___article.html/condemnation_lawsuits.html
October 30, 2008
BROWNSVILLE -- The federal government is moving forward with its plans to build the border fence in this area by filing land condemnation lawsuits involving nine Cameron County properties whose owners are unknown, deceased or unresponsive.
In South Texas, where land deeds are often convoluted or outdated, the legal action is a vital formality before construction on the barrier can begin.
"We're moving forward with our real estate proceedings," said Angela de Rocha, a spokeswoman for the U.S Department of Homeland Security.
In cases of unknown ownership, the government must run an advertisement in local newspapers, informing the public of pending lawsuits. The two-page ad ran in The Brownsville Herald's Thursday's edition, detailing several swaths of property throughout the county.
As of Sept. 10, a total of 97 landowners in the Rio Grande Valley had refused to sell their property to the federal government, according to a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Homeland Security officials say they have continued resolving cases but have also encountered a number of convoluted deeds.
U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen is slated to hear seven land condemnation lawsuits this morning - a fraction of the remaining cases.
After receiving its appropriation request from Congress, Homeland Security is continuing with its plans to complete the fence in the coming months.
But with so many pending condemnation lawsuits - and no sign of fence construction in Cameron County - the government's initial Dec. 31 deadline appears increasingly unrealistic.
http://www.themonitor.com/articles/government_19289___article.html/condemnation_lawsuits.html
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