The U.S. government dropped its border fence condemnation lawsuit against the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College Wednesday, but students and staff were cautious about being optimistic, because plans to build a fence dividing their campus have not changed.
Under the Secure Fence Act, the government has planned to build approximately 700 miles of pedestrian and vehicle fence on the U.S.-Mexico border by the end of 2008. The fence would bisect the university's campus, putting the school's golf course and a historical fort on the Mexico side.
"I was there at the courthouse to show my support of [UTB-TSC president Juliet Garcia]," said Ryan Tauber, a UTB-TSC government senior and president of campus organization Students for Peace and Change. "It does come as a little bit of a defeat that she did not come out and say the wall was not going to go up. It's a victory in the fact that it seems like an agreement was reached."
In October, the U.S. government sent a letter to the university requesting 18 months' right of entry for surveying. The letter stipulated the government would not be held liable for damages it caused to the property. When the university did not grant the request, the government filed suit.
Barry Burgdorf, vice chancellor and general counsel for the UT System, said the university tried to work with the government to find a mutually acceptable solution, but substantive negotiations did not begin until about 24 hours before Wednesday's hearing.
"We, from the beginning, have made entreaties," Burgdorf said. "You really have to ask the federal government why they got reasonable at the end."
Under the dismissal order signed by U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, the U.S.
government will have access to UTB-TSC property for six months for land surveying purposes. The university won a promise that the government will obtain consent before making any changes to the land and take financial responsibility for any damages. The two parties agreed to work together to find alternatives to a physical barrier on the property.
"What we were looking for was access to the property. Essentially we received that [Wednesday]," said Barry Morrissey, spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Burgdorf said there are four alternatives to the proposed fence construction: looping the fence around campus to the south of the golf course; building existing levees up to 15 feet to act as a fence; using technology such as cameras and lights as a "virtual fence"; or increasing the number of border patrol agents in the area.
"The most important thing that we got, that no one else has got, is the right to consult on this matter," Burgdorf said.
Judge Hanen said he hoped the agreement could be an example for future negotiations between landholders and the government, particularly with regards to the Rio Grande City Consolidated Independent School District, whose land may also be divided by a fence. Under current plans, a nature refuge and historic fort would be on the Mexican side.
Rio Grande Superintendent Roel Gonzalez said he hoped the district could negotiate an agreement with the government similar to the university's. When it comes to the fence, he said he is concerned about the economic consequences of restricted movement but worries more about the district's students.
"If you live on the river, the river doesn't really exist. People go back and forth. Families go back and forth," he said. "My school district has over 10,000 kids, and a lot of those kids have relatives in Mexico. How do I explain to my kids that there's a difference between them and their grandma who lives two miles down the river?"
Robert Lucio, head golf coach and manager of Fort Brown Memorial Golf Course, said before Wednesday's agreement he had been more pessimistic.
"I had all sorts of things in my mind," he said. "The worst scenario would be that there would be a gate with border patrol agents, and people wouldn't want to come to our golf course."
He said he knows the matter is far from resolved.
"It's going to be a roller coaster ride," he said. "I know this much: Everybody down here will stand firm."
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