Environmental Groups Sue Over Border Wall

Three environmental groups have sued the Trump administration this Thursday over a waiver issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that would allow it to ignore major environmental regulations in the construction of the wall on Mexico’s border. The lawsuit filed by the coalition of Center for Biological Diversity, Animal Legal Defense Fund and Defenders of Wildlife declares the waiver to be unlawful on 28 environmental laws and exceeding the department’s authoritative limits. The DHS announced the waiver “to ensure the expeditious construction of gates” in Texas, that are deemed necessary by the Trump administration to secure the border. The department’s authority to do so is based on Section 102 of 1996’s Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), which states that “all legal requirements” can be waived whenever it is required to build additional infrastructure to prevent illegal crossing over the border. The region occupied by the future wall - Rio Grande Valley - is considered a high-activity area of undocumented immigration. The U.S. Border Patrol reported that 137,000 people have entered the states illegally and 260,000 pounds of marijuana and 1,192 pounds of cocaine were captured in the Valley in 2017. Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen said the construction of the wall would “achieve and maintain operational control of the international land border,” which, according to the section 102, justifies the waiver of Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act or other 26 laws that protect clean air, clean water, public lands and wildlife in the borderlands. However, the numbers of illegal immigrants are not the only high values at stake in the issue. The 18-mile-long and 30-foot-high levee-style wall is projected to cut through territories of great environmental significance: Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, National Butterfly Center, Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park, and the grounds of La Lomita Chapel. The areas serve as a natural habitat for 1200 plant, 500 bird, and 300 butterfly species, including several endangered species such as the ocelot, jaguarundi and aplomado falcon. The construction of the wall, which includes a 150-foot “enforcement zone,” would not only destroy their natural habitat, but would impede the migratory species from crossing the border when necessary to find mates...MORE