Texas cities sue to stop border fence
2 commentsMay. 16, 2008 08:51 AM
McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON - Mayors from Texas border cities are suing the Department of Homeland Security over construction of 670 miles of fencing along the Southwest border.

The suit, which was to be filed in a federal district court in Washington on Friday, accuses Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and DHS officials of violating numerous laws and regulations and effectively coercing Texas property owners to turn over land for the fence without consultation.

Representatives of the Texas Border Coalition, composed of cities and counties along Texas' 1,200-mile border with Mexico, outlined the lawsuit at a press conference. Peter Schey, the lead counsel for the coalition, said he plans to seek a preliminary injunction to at least temporarily halt work on the fence, with a ruling expected within the next several weeks.

The lawsuit is the latest, and most extensive, legal action brought against the Bush administration in an attempt to block pedestrian fencing and barriers that the DHS is building across all four states that border Mexico. It could further complicate the administration's efforts to complete the targeted 670 miles of fencing by Dec. 31.

Environmentalists, with support from more than a dozen members of Congress, are asking the U.S. Supreme Court for a hearing on their contention that Chertoff violated the Constitution by waiving compliance with 36 laws to expedite work on the fence. Chertoff said he was authorized to do so under the REAL ID Act of 2005.

Schey accused Chertoff of "lawless conduct" and said the DHS ignored border landowners' statutory rights to negotiate reasonable prices for their land before it was seized by the government. The suit also contends that the department gave politically well-connected property owners a pass on having the border fence built on their property.

The DHS has gone to court with 86 condemnation suits to gain access to land in Texas, California and New Mexico, including a high-profile case against Eagle Pass, Texas. Two families in Los Ebanos, a small community in Texas' Hidalgo County, have filed an appeal with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals challenging a lower court decision favoring the DHS.

Chertoff has said that the department has attempted to negotiate with landowners but was forced to file the condemnation suits against hold-out landowners who he said were effectively trying to wield a "veto" over the fence. The department contends that it has consistently complied with the law in carrying out the multibillion-dollar project.



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