I agree with them of not building the border fence on the South of their tonw/city, if they don't want it. Provided that is, that we build a fence on the North side of their town/city, cut all Federal Funding, and install the Border crossing in the North Fence.
Texas Mayor Threatens Suit to Block Border Fence
By Monisha Bansal
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
http://www.cnsnews.com/welcome.asp(CNSNews.com) - Upset over the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) newly released map for 102 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, the mayor of Brownsville, Texas, is trying to block construction of the border fence and has denied DHS officials access to city property.
As a counter-plan, the mayor wants to build a dam that will raise the water level of the river that runs along the border and apparently is more environmentally friendly than a fence. He is now threatening to sue the federal government to block construction of the fence in his community.
"I was elected to represent the interests of my constituents," said Brownsville Mayor Patricio Ahumada. "My constituents have been very open about their opposition to a physical wall that is being rammed down our throats. ... The federal [government] has authority over the city. We know that, but we're not going to make it easy for them."
Ahumada told Cybercast News Service that he supports border security but would prefer to see a natural barrier instead of the physical wall Congress approved last year.
"We proposed an alternative that is very viable, but they haven't even bothered to consider it or taken the time to find out more about it," he said, noting that the city has "the permits and the funding to construct a weir," or a dam.
"This weir will raise the level of the water from 12 feet to 26 feet, which will make it navigable," Ahumada said. He added that high speed boats can patrol the weir for 42 miles instead of the 17 miles of fencing that is scheduled to be built in Brownsville.
He noted that with high-tech equipment and more boots on the ground on the north side of the weir, "We strongly feel that it will be a more effective approach to control illegal activity along the river."
The Border Patrol says "the physical wall they're proposing is only a deterrent of seven minutes for illegal entry," said Ahumada. "Our proposal ... makes it dangerous and much riskier to cross the river."
Ron De Jong, a spokesman for the conservative grassroots advocacy group Grassfire.org, disagreed with Ahumada, saying that the fence will be "the safest, most humane way of monitoring our border."
"The fence is a proven detractor," he said. "It works. It is an effective way to deter illegal crossing.
"What it does is eliminate illegal crossing that would put people at great risk," he told Cybercast News Service. "It forces them to designated openings."
But Ahumada said the wall is like a prison in their backyard.
"They have complete disregard for our ecological system here," Ahumada said of the federal government.
"We have endangered species here that would be adversely affected. Property owners would be adversely affected without access to the river for water and irrigation. We are adversely affecting trade. It is a bad symbolic gesture with our neighbors that our trade and immigration is dependent upon for survival," he added.
"The river is our border, and it should be reinforced in a natural way," Ahumada stressed.
Because the Department of Homeland Security - which did not return phone calls requesting comment for this article - did not work with the city of Brownsville, the mayor said the city council may proceed with their "backup plan ... to file a federal lawsuit with an injunction to stop the building of the wall based on our proposed plan that will be more effective and less costly to the taxpayers of America."
"By law they're supposed to work with us," he said. "They were supposed to work with us, and they have not. I think we have a basis for challenging them."
Ahumada was referring to a section of the 2002 act creating the Department of Homeland Security, which states: "In discharging his responsibilities relating to coordination (including the provision of training and equipment) with State and local government personnel, agencies, and authorities, with the private sector, and with other entities, the responsibilities of the Secretary shall include coordinating with State and local government personnel, agencies, and authorities, and with the private sector, to ensure adequate planning, equipment, training, and exercise activities."
But "the government can take whatever land they want for eminent domain," De Jong said.
"If it has to be built and wherever it has to be built, they're going to take the land," he said. "People can protest it, but ultimately short of strapping themselves in front of a bulldozer, the land is going to be taken for the fence.
"He's got to look beyond Brownsville and look to a nation that is really being crippled by the influx of illegals on our economy, on benefits, on our infrastructure and on our sovereignty," added De Jong.
The mayor has also denied Homeland Security officials access to city property.
"They wanted to go on city property, and we're not authorizing that," Ahumada said. "Let them overcome that challenge."
"The mayor is entitled to take whatever positions he likes, but he also has an obligation, like any other locally elected official, to respect and follow the law," countered Joe Kasper, communications director for Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), a vocal proponent of the border fence.
"The border fence is mandated by federal law, and rather than protesting its construction, the mayor should take the time to learn about the safety and security benefits it will bring to Brownsville," Kasper told Cybercast News Service.
