By IANS
Tucson (US) : The US landowners at the border with Mexico have sued the government to prevent their property from being confiscated for construction of a border fence, EFE news agency reported Saturday.
Peter Schey of the Los Angeles-based Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Reform, representing the landowners of South Texas, has filed a lawsuit against the Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
The lawsuit is in response to the legal actions brought by the government against the border residents who refused to grant authorities access to their property for work associated with the planned fence.
The lead plaintiff in the case is Eloisa Tamez, a professor at the University of Texas-Brownsville, who owns land in the El Calaboz town.
“This morning we had a hearing before the federal judge and we presented our arguments,” Schey said Thursday during a conference call with reporters.
In 2006, President George W. Bush enacted a law authorising construction of a 1,126 km double fence along the US-Mexico border.
The proponents say that the barrier will help stop the flow of illegal migrants and drugs across the frontier.
Unlike in other states, where most of the land near the border belongs to the state or the federal government, a large portion of the land in Texas is privately owned.
Schey said that Chertoff has violated a series of federal laws by “threatening” to confiscate land from people who refused to sign a waiver that gives the government access to their properties for six months.
The waiver allows officials to enter the properties with a construction team, dig holes, examine the soil and knock down buildings if necessary.
Schey said, Chertoff must “clearly define” the property the government is seeking and then attempt to “fix a price for it” with the landowners.
At press a conference, Tamez said she received a notification from the federal government in August concerning a piece of land that belonged to her family since 18th century.
“The reason I’m in this battle is because I think our right to preserve our land and our culture is important,” said Tamez, a descendant of Lipan Apache Indians.
“People are afraid. They get intimidated when they see federal government officials enter their properties, and that’s why they’ve signed the waivers even though they’re opposed to them,” she said, referring to some of her neighbours.
Schey said his clients have a long battle ahead as hundreds of property owners already signed the waivers and judges have ruled in favour of the federal government.