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March 24, 2008 -- Nestled in a deep bend in the Rio Grande, the Fort Brown Memorial Golf Course abuts the international boundary on three sides. Federal government plans to build a fence along the border could leave the course in a no man’s land between the barrier and the actual border.

Signed in 2006, the Secure Fence Act provides for 700 miles of fencing in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California in a bid to increase security along the U.S.-Mexico border. In the first phase of construction, the Department of Homeland Security plans to build nearly 70 miles of the new fence between Brownsville and Roma, Tx.

Some local landowners - including the University of Texas, which owns the golf course - have fought the plan by refusing to allow government surveyors access to their property. In response, the federal government has sued to gain permission to survey private and public lands close to the border.

In late March of 2008, the University of Texas at Brownsville and the Department of Homeland Security negotiated a settlement to a federal suit claiming access to university land for surveying. The terms of the settlement authorize the Department of Homeland Security to access the land for surveying purposes but not to begin construction.

Robert Lucio has operated the golf course for the last 20 years. He fears the fence will negatively affect his business, but he also believes it’s the wrong thing to do.