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A Balloon in Cactus
The Widow Tamez, Accidental Expatriate
By Maggie Van Ostrand
Her Email
Her Bio
Back in the old days of Pirate Island, an island only by definition, located along the Rio Grande near Ysleta and San Elizario in El Paso County, Mexico and the U.S. had a boundary by treaty -- the bed of the Rio Grande. In 1854, the river shifted south, leaving a part of Mexico on the north side of the River. It was a stretch of land several miles long and six miles wide between the new and the old Rio Grande riverbeds. This brush-covered area became known as a no-man's land because Mexican lawmen didn't want to cross the River and be cut off, and Texas lawmen had no legal jurisdiction there. It was perfect for outlaws from both countries.
Will the U.S. government end up sticking Texas Widow Eloisa Tamez in a place like old Pirate Island just because they want to put up a fence on her land against her will?
"I'm not going down without a fight," said 72-year-old Eloisa Tamez, and there are those ready to join her in battle against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
It all began in 1767 when the Spanish Crown granted Tamez's ancestors title to 12,000 acres of land in El Calaboz, Texas, land running along the Rio Grande's north bank. There's not much of that big tract left now -- just three acres. The loss of 11,997 acres wasn't Tamez's fault or the fault of the Department of Homeland Security. Her family's holdings were lost gradually due to the Mexican War of Independence, U.S. annexation of Texas, and the Great Depression.
Those three remaining acres are important enough for Tamez to take on the U.S. government. The border fence mandated by Congress will run directly through her property, placing her on the Mexican side. It's doubtful she'd even be offered Mexican citizenship.
Tamez, who once picked tomatoes on this land, told the Washington Post, "My father, my grandfather, and my great-grandfather farmed this land. This is the land that gave me life and my spirit... I will fight this all the way."
Tamez isn't the only one getting ready to fight Washington's big boys. All across South Texas, municipal leaders and landowners are vowing to prevent government surveyors on their property. They don't want fencing, trespassing, or messing with.
One of the many reasons it's easy to get mad at Washington D.C. is the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which instructs Homeland Security to take a third of the 2,000 mile long Mexican border and erect 700 miles of double-layered fencing. In the muddled mess of Washington, those 700 miles were reduced to 370 miles of barriers to foot traffic and 300 miles barring vehicles, all to be finished by the end of this election year. The key word is "election." About 125 miles of vehicle barriers and 165 miles of fencing have been erected on mostly federally owned land in Arizona, California and New Mexico. But much of the Texas area they want now is held privately by people like Eloisa Tamez, and ties to Mexico are very strong there. Doesn't the U.S. government know it's not smart to mess with Texans? Or Mexicans?
Warning letters were sent to 135 private landowners, municipalities, universities, public utility companies and others along the border who refused to allow surveyors onto their private property. Landowners were given 30 days to change their minds or face legal action. Seventy-one Texans defied the order and the deadline passed. This got the U.S. government's knickers knotted up and they decided to sue.
Lawsuits were filed by Homeland Security, and one California landowner, 11 in Arizona and 11 in Texas were ordered by federal district judges to surrender their properties. Suits are pending against 44 South Texas landowners, including Tamez. Many of these owners are descendents of Spanish settlers who colonized the area in the 1700s. They don't have the money to file appeals or settle in for a long legal battle.
Large stretches of the proposed fence would be located more than a mile inland from the river, cutting off substantial swaths of land. Sounds a little like another Pirate Island, doesn't it?
Michael Chertoff, Secretary of Homeland Security, said "Can we simply abandon an enterprise because it's a problem for a particular individual?" Well yeah, Mr. Chertoff, that's what we fought the American Revolution for -- the rights of the individual.
The Widow Tamez simply says, "I will not allow them to come and survey my land. I have an American-given right to protect my property."
When it comes to privacy rights, and judging by past history with U.S. Government methods, we'd better start making some mole for the Widow Tamez's move to Mexico.
Maggie Van Ostrand is a wonderful storyteller with great insight and wry humor. To read all her articles all the time, we invite you to join our family of subscribers... it isn't expensive. A monthly subscription is just $5.00 USD - that's $1.15 per week. An annual subscription costs $30.00 USD - only $2.50 per month or 58 cents per week. If you're interested in living or retiring in Mexico, we think you'll find it's money well spent.
Subscribe today and always read all the articles!Maggie Van Ostrand, writer, lives in Ajijic, Mexico and Pine Mountain, California. Her stories appear in the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Globe, El Ojo Del Lago, and various magazines. She co-authored "Home Is Where The Hurt Is" with Tony- and Grammy-winning country humorist Roger Miller, and ghostwrites for television sitcoms.
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