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McALLEN -- Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday she was "distressed" by the federal government's efforts to condemn land along the Rio Grande for a border fence and as president would ask for a complete review of border security policy.
The border fence didn't come up in her rally before 2,000 people. But in response to a question later, Clinton said she would listen to local residents and emphasize border security based on technology and personnel.
"I am very distressed to hear about the federal government filing eminent domain actions against both private landowners and municipalities," Clinton said. "The people who live here know more about what it will take to secure this border without interfering with business, recreation, family relationships."
The government has filed more than 50 lawsuits against property owners in the Rio Grande Valley in recent weeks to gain access for surveying.
At the rally, Clinton reached for her personal history and a promise of a veterans hospital to rally a crowd in South Texas, which has been a Democratic stronghold and a well of financial support for her campaign.
Hours after losing three more contests to Democratic opponent U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, she was making her second stop in Texas, with its cache of 228 delegates and a Democratic voting population that could be as much as half Hispanic, a group that favors Clinton.
U.S. Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, introduced Clinton as someone who "has earned our love and respect."
"I first came here nearly 36 years ago," Clinton said. "I went door to door in the border communities, including McAllen, to register voters.
"My first job in politics was registering Hispanic voters," she said. "I came away with such a deep feeling of connection and concern" for South Texas.
After McAllen, Clinton stopped at fairgrounds in Robstown, outside Corpus Christi, where she spoke to an enthusiastic overflow crowd of more than 7,000.
In San Antonio, she went door to door in a mixed-income, heavily Hispanic neighborhood before a planned appearance at a rally at St. Mary's University. Again, she recalled registering voters in a San Antonio neighborhood that looked much like the mix of historic houses with front porches and air conditioners jetting from windows.
A dozen neighbors wielding camera phones quickly swelled to a crowd of more than 100 as she shook hands and posed for photos with children and supporters. One man kissed her hand; a high school teacher thanked her for generating interest in the electoral process among young people.
