WASHINGTON – A group of Texas cities and business groups has sued the Department of Homeland Security to stop the construction of a fence along the border with Mexico.

The Texas Border Coalition, which includes the mayors of Eagle Pass, Brownsville, El Paso, Laredo and Hidalgo, filed the suit in federal court in Washington on Friday, asking a judge to block construction of 70 miles of border fences and walls in the Rio Grande Valley.

The lawsuit seeks class-action certification and accuses Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Customs and Border Patrol officials of not telling landowners they had the right to negotiate the price for the federal use of their land, concealing how they decide what constitutes a reasonable price for land seized for the fence and showing favoritism to wealthy or well-connected landowners.

Mr. Chertoff, speaking at a separate event Friday, denied the allegations, saying that the department has reached out to local stakeholders in an effort to simply do what Congress mandated – secure the United States' southern border.

"What we haven't done is we haven't given everybody a veto," Mr. Chertoff said. "If somebody says they prefer an open border, we don't necessarily give them the right to make that judgment because the consequences of an open border are smuggling of drugs and human beings into this country."

But Chad Foster, the mayor of Eagle Pass and chairman of the coalition, said that Homeland Security, under pressure to build a fence, is ignoring less-intrusive and more practical measures to secure the border with Mexico.

Mr. Foster, who was joined by Brownsville Mayor Pat Ahumada and Laredo Mayor Raul Salinas, said that attempts to build physical barriers along the Rio Grande amounted to "using an antiquated solution to a 21st century problem."

Peter Schey, the border coalition's attorney, added that Homeland Security browbeat and "hoodwinked" hundreds of landowners into signing over their property rights for the fence, "running roughshod over the rights of municipalities, of local property owners, in an effort to get a wall built." The lawsuit asks the judge to invalidate the existing land deals.

Mr. Chertoff said he's more than happy to work with local communities to find effective alternatives to fencing.

"Congress has made it clear they want this done," he said.

Mr. Salinas, a retired FBI agent, said putting up a wall in Laredo would be "absolutely ridiculous."

"If you build a fence, what are you saying? You're turning your back on your friends," he said. "It's a wall of shame."

Homeland Security spokeswoman Laura Keehner said the department had no intention to back down from its plans.

"We've nearly bent over backward to work with landowners," she said in a written statement. "Accusations to the contrary are either ill-informed or just plain wrong."