County considers suing DHS

Cameron County could take the federal government to court over the border fence.

County Commissioners on Tuesday will consider joining a federal lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff aimed at stopping the fence's construction.

The issue will be discussed at Tuesday's Commissioners Court meeting.

The item was placed on the agenda of Precinct 2 Commissioner John Wood, who said the move was prompted by this week's comment by County Judge Carlos Cascos that the fence is going to be built.

Wood is not sure how the other commissioners will vote on the issue, he said Friday. At previous County Commission meetings, the court members all said they were against the fence.

However, he said statements made by DHS about the fence going up will "change the minds of the other commissioners. I think they will probably support it, but I don't know that" for sure, he said.

Eloisa Tamez, a professor at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, was sued in January over access to her land in El Calaboz, about 12 miles west of Brownsville. Tamez responded by filing a countersuit, alleging that the federal government failed to follow relevant laws in condemning her land. The Texas Border Coalition joined the lawsuit last month.

Adding Cameron County to the lawsuit would "add a little credence" to what has been filed, Wood said. "I think it shows a unified front that people from El Paso to Brownsville ... don't generally stand around and wait for people to do stuff to them. We generally stand up for our rights."

Nearly a year ago, commissioners passed a resolution opposing the border fence that would run about 70 miles through the county.

"He's going to do this hell or high water," Wood said of Chertoff

lmartinez@brownsvilleherald.com