Texan mayors threaten court to stop border fence   By Robin Emmott

LAREDO, Texas (Reuters) - Texan mayors on the border with Mexico are threatening to take the U.S. government to court and are encouraging ranchers to do the same to block construction of a fence to keep out illegal immigrants.

Six mayors fear the planned fence, part of Washington’s crackdown on illegal immigration, will hurt trade, split closely knit Mexican-Texan communities on both sides of the border and endanger wildlife.

Part of a federal plan to build 700 miles of barrier along the entire border, the fence will also cut off Texan ranchers’ access to the Rio Grande, the main source of fresh water in the region, the mayors say.

“We have to protect our property and we will do whatever is necessary to ensure there is no wall,” said Laredo Mayor Raul Salinas, a former FBI agent.

A federal judge temporarily halted construction of part of the fence this week in Arizona on environmental grounds.

Since the failure of President George W. Bush’s immigration reform plans in June, Washington has been focused on boosting border security and deporting illegal immigrants. Construction of the fence has already begun in California.

Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster said he had received hate e-mails from Americans outside Texas who accuse him of being soft on security. But the mayors argue there are better ways to stop illegal immigrants and drug traffickers.

“The perception in some parts of the United States is that you build a fence and then migration stops. The reality is that it will slow down migrants by three to four minutes,” he said.

One year ago: Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev compared the United States’ proposed 700-mile wall on the U.S.-Mexico border to the Berlin Wall during a visit to Chaparral Center at Midland College, Texas. I borrow a phrase from the blog ‘The Wall’ …

“Tortilla