New target area: Laredo College to Colombia Bridge
RGISC: Signing Right of Entry irrevocably forfeits certain rights to your land
Riverfront landowners in a stretch of the Río Grande that extends 29.8 miles from Laredo College (Fort Mac campus) to the Colombia Solidarity Bridge met this morning with representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and U.S. Border Patrol.
The purpose of the meeting, which was held at the Laredo North Border Patrol Station on McPherson, was to get property owners to give the government Right of Entry letters to survey land on which to build President Trump’s proposed border wall.
The 10 landowners present were outnumbered by 10 individuals from the USACE, 12 Border Patrol Agents of various rank and function, Customs and Border Protection personnel, and representatives of the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Deputy USBP Deputy Agent in Charge Michael Sauceda Jr. was the lead presenter for his agency, as was Steven Roche for CBP. Also present were USBP infrastructure planner José A. “Freddy” Castillo, BP ranch liaison Michael Martinez, John Smith of the U.S. Attorney’s office, and David Bell of CBP.
USBP Laredo Sector Chief Felix Chavez was not present, nor were any elected officials, members of the media, or City or County administrators.
The landowners viewed a power point presentation on the proposed Border Wall project tailored to the USBP’s Laredo sector, and even more specifically for the Laredo College-to Colombia Bridge stretch: a proposal never before discussed or disclosed publicly to elected officials or the people of Laredo at numerous prior meetings.
The presentation centered on building 15 miles of wall in this 29.8-mile stretch that would include an all-weather road on one side of the wall and a lighted maintenance road on the other side. The USACE and USBP also disclosed planning for an additional 15 miles south, though neither the location or any details of that stretch were identified.
Attendees were told that the Border Patrol had need for “operational control” and faced the challenges and impediments of Carrizo cane growth on the river banks, drug trafficking, human smuggling, lack of access and lateral mobility along the river, and the illicit use of riverfront access to roads.
Though the audience was but 10 landowners, organizers were prepared with about 30 folders and packets and a map of the area. It appeared that USBP agents had already made contact with some landowners in advance.
Landowners learned that funding does exist for the planning phase of this new 15-mile segment, but funding doesn’t exist for its construction. It was learned that the federal government seeks to obtain IRS forfeiture funds for the segment’s construction.
Government representatives confirmed that a steel bollard wall between 18 and 30 feet high is what landowners would see between themselves and the Río Grande. They described the area of land between the middle of the river to the edge of green space on the riverbank as the “southern approach.” They then discussed a 150-foot setback that would extend further inland past the “southern approach.”
Landowners were advised that Right of Entry was sought in order to conduct surveys and environmental assessments, the latter an ironic assertion in the face of the waiver of 40 protective federal laws — many relative to clean water, clean air, wildlife, endangered species, and the environment — suspended for wall construction on the southern border.
The swift-paced meeting appeared to be well-orchestrated and with attention paid to every landowner present. The attendees were told that there was no compensation for the Right of Entry, and that the ROE is irrevocable.
Representatives of the USACE told landowners that they would respect the floodplain, but that they can build in the floodplain with consultation with the International Boundary and Water Commission, the bi-national agency that in its long, environmentally lackluster history has never found its spine.
Right of Entry was discussed as a process separate from the negotiation and purchase of land. If negotiations with the USACE fail, the case could end up in the office of the U.S. Attorney and then in a court of law for condemnation proceedings before a judge or a panel who would consider Yellow Book standards and comparables for fair value of compensation.
DON’T SIGN ROE DOCUMENTS
Tricia Cortez, executive director of RGISC, has cautioned landowners not to sign Right of Entry documents without adequate legal representation. “You could potentially give up certain rights to your land, irrevocably,” she said.
GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS
In the good news/worse news department on other border wall developments: Good: Webb County yesterday passed a resolution 3-1 to support by amicus brief the Rio Grande International Study Center (RGISC) lawsuit against Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency.
WEBB COUNTY TO FILE AMICUS BRIEF: Pictured after the County resolution in support of RGISC’s suit against the declaration of a national emergency by the Trump administration are left to right (top) Commissioner Jesse Gonzalez and Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina. With them are left to right Sylvia Bruni, Anna Wirsching, Commissioner Wawi Tijerina, Tricia Cortez of RGISC, Margarita Gibler, and Commissioner Cindy Liendo. Visibly absent is Commissioner John Galo, who cast the dissenting vote.
RGISC and other border stakeholders are represented by Earthjustice, the national environmental law firm that is challenging the border wall.
The Webb County initiative to take a stand was led by Commissioners Jesse Gonzalez and Wawi Tijerina.
Bad: The dissenting vote on the issue came from Commissioner John Galo who feigned a lack of knowledge about the RGISC/Earthjustice suit.
He added that he felt it was under the President’s right to declare the national emergency and to use those federal funds that come with it.
Should the wall be built on its traverse across private river front ranch land north of the Colombia Solidarity Bridge, it will likely tear a formidable gash across land in cattle production owned by the family of Galo’s wife, Anna Benavides Galo.
Hard to conceive a wall with roads on both sides being built along the river. Even harder to imagine why any landowner would endorse such an act. I think of a wall along the Max Mandel Golf Course and the eyesore that would cause. And to think this wall will be built by taking funds away from the military budget is even stranger. Where are all those private property rights people that holler about eminent domain and equate that with being un-American!!! Reagan helped to bring down the Berlin Wall and Trump wants to build his monumental centerpiece along the 2100 mile border. Repubs have come a long way since the days of Ronald Reagan……….