EAGLE PASS, Texas -- If you take a drive down the Rio Grande, it’s easy to see why the mayor of Eagle Pass is leading the battle against the new border fence.

Along the Rio Grande, roots fun deep and communities are close-knit.

Texas’ Eagle Pass and Mexico’s Piedras Negras are connected by community but divided by a river.

The sister cities have a shared economy, bolstered by a common border culture.

“Piedras Negras and Eagle Pass continue to operate basically as the same community, even though we represent two countries,” Mayor Chad Foster said.

Residents converse easily in both English and Spanish.

Mayor Foster is a familiar face in the Mexican city.

But he said border towns’ close ties to Mexico don’t mean they don’t care about security.

In fact, towns like Eagle Pass have been fighting illegal entries for generations.

But the issue didn’t come to the forefront until the Nov. 2006 election.  Then, talk of a border fence cast what some consider and unrealistic light on life along the country’s fringe.

Locals blame Washington politics for the fence. They favor more Border Patrol agents and newer technology over a physical barrier cutting through their communities.

The fence will cut straight through parks and playgrounds, among other things.

The federal government is suing Eagle Pass for access to park property where some people cross the border illegally.

The topic is the talk of both towns.

“Personally, I believe somebody is making the money out of it,” Eagle Pass resident Fito Barrera said.

As construction begins, Texans along the border who don’t want to be fenced in vow they won’t back down.