Massive border gates planned

BROWNSVILLE — Like some farmers along the Rio Grande, Edward Mathers is counting on a series of gates to open the fence that will cut across his land.

But others warn that the federal government is likely to restrict access to keys or remote control devices that would open such gates.

“I’m not happy, but I can live with the inconvenience,” said Mathers, who farms about 1,000 acres along the river.

U.S. Border Patrol agents told him that 50-foot-long gates would open along a 10-foot-high fence to let him tend to land on each side of the fence, Mathers said.

But in San Pedro, farmer Fermin Leal said he was told farmers will have to contact Border Patrol agents to open the fence’s remote-controlled gates.

At the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C., spokesman Russ Knocke declined to confirm plans to install gates along the fence that’s part of a project to cut the flow of illegal immigration.

“We will continue to communicate and listen to ranchers and landowners … to the extent that we can work with them … to ensure the effectiveness of the new infrastructure but also to address legitimate concerns by local officials,” Knocke only said.

U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, said gates would breach the integrity of the fence designed to protect the nation’s border.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” said Ortiz, who opposes the project. “There are a lot of questions and a lot of rumors.”

Such a plan would likely require Border Patrol agents to monitor gates, raising the cost of the multi-billion dollar project, Ortiz said.

Gates would allow farmers to stay in business, said Leonard Loop, whose sons farm about 2,000 acres along the river in Brownsville.

“They would have to do that or buy all the land along the river,” Loop said.

But Tudor Uhlhorn called the plan impractical.

“They’re not going to let us have keys to any gates,” said Uhlhorn, who farms land along the river near Los Indios. “That’s just to calm everybody down.”

But Mathers said he’ll deal with the gates’ inconvenience to do his part to support the fence project.

“Look at the bigger picture to secure the us from terrorists and drugs,” Mathers said of the fence. “After 9-11, we all pitch in. If it makes the world a better place to be, it’s better for everybody.”