Marfa is near the Mexican border. It's a small community like most things in Jeff Davis County. My dad's town's on it, and it's just a wide spot in the road that wouldn't be mentioned if there were more people there.
The real draw is Ft. Davis and various dude ranches and the the UT-McDonald Observatory. There are not much more than 2200 people in the entire county. About half of them are in Ft. Davis.
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?city=fort%20davis&state=TX&zoom=4
http://community.txed.state.tx.us/communities/commpages/364.htm
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/48/48243.html
If they could make it it would be good for the county, but I am not holding my breath. What they do have going for them is the Ft. Davis draw, and the Big Bend park traffic and the reputation of the Marfa lights, and that right now it is cheap to live there.
Funny, I don't think of Marfa as near the Mexican border, but I guess in the greater scheme of things, it is. I think of it as "near Alpine."
When you say "near the border," I think of Presidio or Lajitas or Langtry, in that neck of the woods.