FRONTIER CRISIS: LAND ALONG RIO GRANDE RIVER IN LIMBO
The latest data from the United States Government Accountability Office shows that, in July 2020, around 135 private plots were acquired by the government. But almost two months after President Biden put a temporary brake on the border wall, landowners along the southern border are trying to find out what comes next.
RIO GRANDE CITY, Texas – Danny Villarreal has lived in Rio Grande City, Texas, all his life. He is co-owner of approximately 70 hectares of land along the Rio Grande.
Villarreal lands return to the river, leaving it vulnerable to migrants trying to cross into the United States – but the latest increase in migrants along the southern border is nothing new, he said.
“Each government has had its problem with illegal aliens, this is not the first wave we have seen,” Villarreal told Fox News. “This is the largest country in the world, and why wouldn’t people want to be part of the big melting pot?”
Although Villarreal hasn’t seen many encounters lately, he said that when he does, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) acts quickly.
Danny Villarreal said that Customs and Border Protection uses sensors and cameras on their land to capture migrants.
“There are so many cameras and sensors that the government hid around here,” said Villarreal. “When the camera is turned off, it is in real time and the Border Patrol is very fast.”
And although the land of Villarreal has not been much disturbed, the story is not the same for his cousin Rene Villarreal, who has a plot next door. He described one of his most recent meetings for Fox News.
“There was a girl standing on this side right there and she was pregnant and I asked if she needed help, she said, ‘Yes, I couldn’t keep up with the guys, so I had to stay behind,'” Rene Villarreal said. “I told her that, in her condition, she probably needed help and so she came to the Border Patrol who was here and he took her.”
Rene Villarreal added that, like his cousin, he is well aware of the presence of the Border Patrol.
A race track runs through Villarreal’s land and is often a tool that Border Patrol agents use to track migrants.
“We have a race track for the city that works here on land and the Border Patrol normally drags this area with tractor tires,” said Rene Villarreal. “So, in the morning, when they are making their rounds, they can count footprints because no one can jump from side to side.”
The lands of Rene and Danny Villarreal are part of just over 1,000 privately owned plots in southern Texas that the Trump administration was buying for a border wall.
“They came to me and wanted to know who had the legal rights to the property and then the process started. The surveyors went, the land appraisers went after and then the negotiations and then you finally signed,” said Danny Villarreal. “And if you didn’t sign, they would take it from you anyway.”
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Danny Villarreal, although he did not support the border wall, wanted to make sure that he received what he thought his land was worth. So when he was asked about the government’s purchase of part of his land and later to house it on a border wall, he agreed.
“My parents had land in Lopeno, Texas, and when they built the falcon dam, they flooded the small town and my parents were compensated, but it was cents on the dollar,” said Danny Villarreal. “I said no at first, but they said they were going to get it anyway and I wanted to make sure that what happened to my parents wouldn’t happen again, so I sold 1.2 acres of my land.”
The most recent data from the US Government Accountability Office showed that, by July 2020, the government had acquired about 135 private plots.
Danny Villarreal’s lands return to Rio Grande, leaving his property vulnerable to migrants trying to cross the US-Mexico border.
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This includes more than one acre owned by Danny Villarreal and one acre each of his two cousins on each side.
The Trump administration was working to get more than 5,000 acres of land for the border wall, mostly in southern Texas, but then the Biden government came in and stopped immediately – leaving landowners like Danny Villarreal stuck in limbo.
“They said the money has already been set aside for this and no matter what the Biden government says or does, even if they interrupt the program, the land is still legally theirs,” said Danny Villarreal. “But as of now, I haven’t been paid.”
But now, the cousins said, they don’t know what’s next for the wall or their property.
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“You would have seen a big wall coming right over here, through those fields, crossing all the way and into the bush area, but no activity,” said Danny Villarreal. “But even though they’ve put a brake on the wall for now, I’m sure they won’t start giving land back.”
Meanwhile, dozens of eminent domain claims are still tied up in legal battles. However, beginning in mid-March, the US Attorney’s Office gave up its legal efforts to take possession of at least three tracts of land in South Texas.