WASHINGTON (AP) - Some Texas border mayors and business leaders
have filed a class-action lawsuit in an effort to stop construction
of the U.S.-Mexico fence.
The Texas Border Coalition alleges, in a suit filed in
Washington, hat Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff failed
to negotiate fairly with landowners for access to their property.
The lawsuit also names Customs and Border Protection officials
as a defendant.
Homeland Security spokeswoman Laura Keehner says the suit is a
delay tactic.
Coalition members say a 1996 immigration law giving Chertoff
authority to condemn property for the fence also requires he
negotiate fair compensation. They say landowners were offered $100
and were hoodwinked into waiving their property rights.