Plans to build 700 miles of fencing along the southern border have generated a flood of controversy along the banks of the Rio Grande River. The river serves as the international boundary between a string of bi-national metropolitan areas and smaller sister towns. Unlike other areas in the border region, the majority of land along the Texas/Mexico dividing line is held in private hands – and dozens of regional landowners are now defendants in federal condemnation suits for refusing the government's offer of $100 for unlimited access to their property to construct an 18 foot high barrier. As FSRN reported on Friday, elected officials from the Texas border and regional business leaders have filed their own lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security. Shannon Young traveled to the Texas/Mexico border to bring us some of the voices of those involved in a different kind of battle at the border.

Back to Newscast for May 19, 2008