Laredo, TX – At a February 19 meeting, dozens of private landowners from Laredo, San Ygnacio, and Zapata gathered at a townhall event and expressed alarm and anger over the federal government’s latest push to seize massive amounts of private land to build an unnecessary and expensive system of border wall, buoys, and an off-limits security enforcement zone.
Multiple landowners showed ROE letters that they have received this week from the Washington D.C. office of U.S. Customs & Border Protection. Some said that they feel “threatened” and “intimidated” by CBP tactics to sign the document or else be taken to “federal court to acquire the property in accordance with the Declaration of Taking Act,” according to an ROE document presented Thursday night.
Landowners also received updates about the federal government’s plans for the wall, and a preliminary report by a fluvial geomorphologist (river expert) that shows significant risks and potential catastrophic impacts to life and property for Webb and Zapata counties.
In recent days, landowners in Webb and Zapata have received ROEs called “ROE-C,” which stands for Right of Entry for Construction, which is “vastly different” from the ROE in 2020 that some landowners received during the first Trump Administration, according to attorneys present Thursday.
Landowners should not sign the ROE without consulting an attorney.
Attorneys who were present to answer questions at the Thursday meeting urged landowners not to sign any government ROE documents without first consulting an attorney.
“This ROE goes far beyond what we saw last time in the 2020 ROE,” said Laredo attorney and riverfront landowner Ricardo de Anda. “If you sign it, you are giving the government the right to construct the wall on your land without any guarantee that you will be paid. We are urging all landowners not to sign anything until they have spoken with an attorney experienced in eminent domain law.”
De Anda andAustin attorney Roy R. Brandys explained that the ROE letter that some landowners have already received could potentially bypass traditional condemnation proceedings and leave landowners with few, if any, options to recoup just compensation for the taking of their land.
Some landowners at the townhall said that language in the nearly 20-page ROE packet is “unclear,” confusing many landowners as to what rights they would surrender if they signed, some of whom now regret doing so. Others said that it felt like “a trap.”
“Today’s ROE gives permission for the construction of Wall to begin immediately on your land, despite what you may hear otherwise,” warned Melissa R. Cigarroa, a riverfront landowner in Zapata County.“One signature will open the door for this massive taking of land — DO NOT SIGN without getting a lawyer.”
Cigarroa added, “Up close, the border wall is a looming mass of steel with 24-hour high intensity lights, cameras, and surveillance roads. It is an ugly prison wall, more than twice as high as the Berlin Wall. We do not deserve to be treated like criminals. Our river, our water, our land, and our children deserve better.”
Tannya Benavides of the No Border Wall Laredo Coalition,one of three groups that organized the Thursday event, commented, “Just like last time, they are saying ‘there’s nothing you can do,’ and ‘it’s a done deal.’ But what we learned is that nothing is ever a done deal, especially when the community has something to say about it. To beat this, they’d have to get through each and every one of us.”
The argument for the wall is false
Landowners also learned more details about the federal government’s plans for the wall. On October 15, 2025, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem designated the CBP Laredo Sector as “an area of high illegal entry,” according to the Federal Register.
However, the federal designation for “high illegal entry” conflicts with actual CBP Website data that shows apprehensions at historic lows, and near zero numbers in the Laredo Sector (see chart). The data directly contradicts the federal justification for the wall. Despite the facts, the designation by DHS allows the U.S. government to waive dozens of federal laws for the Laredo Sector and strip critical protections for local residents.
The #NoBorderWall Laredo Coalition is a network of residents, elected officials, & organizations who oppose the construction of a border wall.
Website: facebook.com/NoBorderWallCoalition | Insta: @noborderwall_ltx
