Texas stretch of border fence sees delays

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Legal, political and engineering obstacles are slowing completion of a 670-mile U.S.-Mexico border security fence, observers say.

Construction of the last 70 miles of the fence project, located mostly along the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, is proving a challenge after the other 600 miles went smoothly, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

Fence opponents have petitioned the Obama administration to halt construction, while environmentalists are demanding a careful review of the route, which they contend would block such rare species as the ocelot from its critical habitat.

Meanwhile, property owners are mounting legal challenges to federal seizure of their land for the fence and engineers are struggling to address flooding concerns even as drug smugglers and illegal immigrants are breaching the fencing that is already up, officials told the newspaper.

"(President Barack Obama) supports the fence as long as it is one part of a larger strategy on border security that includes more boots on the ground and increased use of technology," a White House spokesman told the Journal, while a spokeswoman for Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano echoed that thought, though she added that Napolitano has called for a review of border policies.