El Paso Joins Fight Against Border Fence

The building of a border fence in El Paso hits a brick wall with the county now joining in the fight to stop building on private property.

The border fence may be popping up in some parts of El Paso, but the county wants it out of others.

Monday El Paso County joined other border towns in a lawsuit against the federal government opposing the border fence on private property.

The county argues the federal government is ignoring the rights of private property owners in order to put up the fence.

El Paso county judge, Anthony Cobos, said the federal government may be rushing into the fence, ignoring laws that have been on the books for hundreds of years.

"We are appealing this lawsuit based on local, state, and federal laws being circumvented and quashed by the federal government. They are moving very quickly and spending a lot of money on these fences," Cobos said Monday.

Judge Cobos said no tax payer money will be used in the lawsuit against the federal government.

The cost of building the fence may be another set back for the federal government. Material and labor for mile of the border fence use to be $4 million; the price tag has now grown to $7.5 million.