LUCIO: KATIE BAR THE DOOR AFTER THE COWS HAVE GONE THROUGH BORDER WALL

By Juan Montoya

Do you ever remember State Sen. Eddie Lucio ever attending a "No Border Wall" rally?
Do you ever remember him protesting with the likes of Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos and former mayor Pat Ahumada at Hope Park against the backdrop of Matamoros across the Rio Grande?
If you have, I'd love to see some pictures because it appears that the good senator has discovered that the border wall exists and that (gasp) we need to "study the economic impact that the border wall is having on homes, properties, and businesses."
Even though the voices of the likes of Lucio, state representative Rene Oliveira, and others were never raised too loudly against the wishes of the federal government, the wall has now become an easy media symbol to be taken advantage of for certain politicians and local "leaders."
To give you an idea of the personal nature of the concern that Lucio has for the properties and fields that were left on the southern side of the wall, he is holding the anti-wall press conference from 11 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. on Saturday at the Fort Brown Memorial Golf Course Clubhouse at 300 River Levee Road in Brownsville.
Coincidentally, that golf course is the one leased to his relative Bob Lucio, who before had been the golf instructor at UTB-TSC. When the wall was built, the golf course was secluded on the other side of the 20-foot iron fence.
Now, even after he paid little heed to the travails of the likes of Pamela Taylor whose ranch was also left on the south side of the wall, the fact that his relative's golf business may be suffering from the economic impact of its construction, it has suddenly become an urgent matter.
"We need to know how many homes are caught in the no man's land between the wall and the river. We need to know how many citrus groves and other agricultural businesses the wall slices through,” he told the Rio Grande Guardian's Steve Taylor.
“Since Congress passed the Secure Fence Act in 2006, 70 miles of fencing - 20 feet high - has been built in the Rio Grande Valley. But because the river is the true boundary between Texas and Mexico, the wall actually lies north of the border, dividing residential and commercial properties that run to the river edge,” he said.
Lucio's response to the construction of the border wall has been to file bills that get nowhere. During the last session he said his bill made it through the Senate, but died for lack of support in the House.
Now, after the hearing at his relative's suffering golf course, he is threatening the Legislative with filing yet another bill.
“We need the state government to do its part as well. That is why I plan to file my border wall bill again during the 83rd legislative session in 2013,” Lucio said, assuming he is re-elected, Taylor wrote.
Oh, yes, we forgot to mention that he is running for the position he's held since 1991. Could it be (as some cynics say) that all the wall means to Lucio is a campaign prop to galvanize support among the locals for yet another of his re-election bids?

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