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LA GRULLA, Texas The federal government said it needed Ociel Mendoza s land on the outskirts of this tiny Texas town and it couldn t wait any longer.
Each additional day of delay was costing the government $15,000 as contractors waited to begin construction on the border fence slated to go through Mendoza s ranch, the Department of Justice argued in court filings. By Nov. 24, the tab for the delay had reached nearly $1.6 million, the land acquisition manager for U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in an affidavit.