University of Texas, government reach deal on border fence

A planned fence along the U.S.-Mexican border will no longer cut off a large chunk of a South Texas university, according to an agreement reached by the school and the federal government. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, who had ordered the University of Texas at Brownsville and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to work on a compromise, ordered that the deal be submitted in writing by Tuesday after accepting it in principle Thursday. Under the university's agreement, the government will not condemn any university land and will not build a fence on campus. I agree that it was a good idea to take down a fence that was blocking off parts of the campus and preventing future expansion. In exchange to the agreement, the school will improve an existing fence that is in disrepair so that it will stand 10 feet tall next to the levee that runs north of the campus golf course. The university will also invest in additional cameras and allow the Border Patrol to install its cameras and sensors on the fence.