Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Construction on a state-funded border fence is underway along a road in far south Val Verde County.
“Construction of this fence began about two months ago, but we really didn’t get to see it because it was on a private ranch, the Galindo Ranch, so we really didn’t have a view of them working, building the fence. A couple of weeks ago, they finished and came onto Vega Verde Road, and we were now really able to see what they are doing,” Val Verde County Commissioner Pct. 4 Gustavo “Gus” Flores told The 830 Times in an interview along the fence on Tuesday.
The commissioner said the fence is comprised of eight feet of chain link topped with three parallel strands of barb wire on both sides and finished with coils of concertina wire.
The fence is located about 10 yards north of Vega Verde Road, a roadway which parallels the Rio Grande River in far southern Val Verde County.
Several private properties along Vega Verde Road became the focus of intense national and international law enforcement and media scrutiny earlier this year when immigrants began illegally entering the United States by wading across the Rio Grande and traversing those properties.
In June, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott held a “border security summit” in Del Rio and pledged to continue building walls or fences along the border, which had been halted under the administration of President Joe Biden.
Flores said the fence is being constructed with the blessing of the owners of properties on the north side of the road.
Just west of the junction of Vega Verde and Cienegas Road, where the fence made its public debut, Flores said the fence runs along the property of the Ingram Ready Mix company.
“I spoke with the owner, Mr. Earl Ingram, and he was all for it. All of the landowners are happy about it, because they’re getting a good fence out of it,” Flores said, noting previous fencing in the area was either nonexistent or old and tumbledown.
“Some of those fences have been there 60 or 70 years,” the commissioner added.
Flores said the flood of immigrants that inundated portions of the vega area earlier this year was the catalyst for the fence.
“We were flooded with immigrants, at a point where it was uncontrollable, and it was, because I witnessed it, since I’m in and out through here every day, so it was a perfect idea, I think,” Flores said.
Flores said the fence is intended to serve as a mechanism to channel and control the flow of immigrants moving through the area.
“I agree totally with that. They were coming through everywhere down here. Now, they see this fence, and they’re going to follow it to where the construction is still going on or to Cienegas Road, and it will make it easier to catch them, and you know what? I’ve been seeing family units being caught on Cienegas Road, because they know they can’t climb this fence,” Flores said.
“Now law enforcement can target certain areas. It will make it easier for the DPS (Texas Department of Public Safety) and Border Patrol to catch them,” he added.
Flores said he has been told by the construction project manager the fence will be extended “all the way to the lake.”
Flores said the state is paying for the construction of the fence and has hired a contractor to perform the work. The commissioner said he did not know how much has been spent on the construction since all those funds are being handled by the state.
“It’s going to cost a pretty dollar; I’d say millions of dollars, at the end of the day. They’ve got a lot of people working on it. They’ve got a lot of equipment, and they’ve got a lot of materials involved,” Flores said.
The commissioner said before the construction began, he called a meeting of all the property owners whose land might be involved.
“Of course, everybody wanted a fence. They’re clearing your right-of-way, making it look nice, plus you’re getting a really nice fence, free. I agree with the state, what they’re doing with this fence. It’s going to help a lot. It really is, and it’s already slowed down the traffic of immigrants through certain areas. They’re funneling the immigrants to certain areas where they can be caught more easily, but without the fence, they were spread all over the place,” the commissioner said.
“This way we can control the problem here on the river, once the fence is 100 percent complete. This is not the Donald Trump fence. This is not the George Bush fence. This is Gov. Abbott’s fence,” Flores added.
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