Congressmen ask Obama to halt border fence construction

Several South Texas congressmen are asking President Barack Obama to temporarily suspend the construction of the border fence to give him the chance to evaluate border security operations along the U.S-Mexico border.

U.S. Reps. Solomon P. Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, and Ruben Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, are among five members of the Texas congressional delegation who sent a letter to Obama Tuesday asking him to temporarily halt construction until his administration can review the fence's merits.

The letter is also signed by Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso and Ciro D. Rodriguez, D-San Antonio. In addition, the letter contains the signatures of California Reps. Susan Davis and Bob Filner, both Democrats, and Democratic Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva.

The letter reads, although there are locations that warrant a border fence, "We strongly believe the Bush administration's approach of constructing a fence along most of the southwest border was ill conceived as it was void of any meaningful input from local communities or the Border Patrol sector chiefs who are most familiar with the challenges of securing the border."

It continues, "We respectfully request that you suspend construction of the border fencing until your administration has had time to properly review its merits as well as consult with those on the ground most familiar with the situation."

The letter was to be faxed to the White House Tuesday night, said Danny Guerra, communications director for Ortiz, who added the congressman hopes the Obama administration will respond quickly to the correspondence.

The letter comes two days before city of Brownsville commissioners are set to vote on accepting an agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for the construction of a floating fence on city property.

City commissioners will vote Thursday on the floating fence and, if approved, Brownsville will be the only city between San Diego, Calif., and the rest of the southern border that would be able to remove the fence for a local project.

Meanwhile, the letter to Obama and his administration could be considered almost the last option the border communities have in stopping the fence's construction. About 601 miles of fencing has already been completed, with only 69 miles remaining.

Although Congress could issue a mandate to halt construction, the Democrats "don't have the votes to overturn" the Secure Fence Act of 2006 that mandated the border fence construction, Guerra said.

However, Guerra added that Ortiz will continue to do whatever he can to stop the fence's construction.