Eagle Pass mayor says border fence lawsuit unnecessary

Web Posted: 01/16/2008 05:25 PM CST

Sara Inés Calderón
Express-News

EAGLE PASS — The U.S. government's quick victory in a lawsuit against the city of Eagle Pass to gain access to 233 acres for surveyors working on a border fence has bewildered city officials who say they have fully cooperated with the Department of Homeland Security.

“I don't recall a single occasion that we haven't granted access,” said Mayor Chad Foster.

As chairman of the Texas Border Coalition, a group of concerned politicians and business leaders that opposes the border fence, Foster has repeatedly stated that the fence won't solve the problem of illegal immigration in Texas.

The Eagle Pass City Council approved a resolution as far back as 2005 against any type of border fencing within the city limits.

But the city has granted easements to the Department of Homeland Security for several projects, including 15 light towers, a road for U.S. Border Patrol vehicles and the cutting of carrizo cane that grows along the Rio Grande.

The government sent 102 letters to border property owners warning they could be sued if they denied access to land for the proposed border fence, according to DHS spokeswoman Laura Keehner.