Those opposed to a border fence have begun a nine-day protest march across South Texas. The group includes ranchers, school administrators, students and river runners.
The US has plans to build a 670-mile fence along the border with Mexico by December. Texas has the longest border with Mexico — and the largest number of private property owners who would be affected by the fence. The federal government has already filed dozens of lawsuits against property owners who have refused access to their land to the fence builders.
There’s a different attitude among those living on the border. “That’s Mexico there,” said Johnny Hart, pointing across the river. Hart to the Dallas Morning News that he runs the Riverside Club in Mission, where he gives boat tours. “It’s like two countries and it’s like one. … Mexico to me is like Oklahoma. … We don’t look at it as a foreign country.”