Posted on 04/14/2017 1:34:09 PM PDT by mdittmar
TUCSON – Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) today joined the Center for Biological Diversity in suing the Trump administration over its proposed border wall and other border security measures, calling on federal agencies to conduct an in-depth investigation of the proposal’s environmental impacts. Rep. Grijalva released the following statement:
“American environmental laws are some of the oldest and strongest in the world, and they should apply to the borderlands just as they do everywhere else,” Rep. Grijalva said. “These laws exist to protect the health and well-being of our people, our wildlife, and the places they live. Trump’s wall — and his fanatical approach to our southern border — will do little more than perpetuate human suffering while irrevocably damaging our public lands and the wildlife that depend on them.”
The lawsuit seeks to require the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to prepare a supplemental “programmatic environmental impact statement” for the U.S.-Mexico border enforcement program.
The program includes Trump’s proposed wall as well as road construction, off-road vehicle patrols, installation of high-intensity lighting, construction of base camps and checkpoints, and other activities. These actions significantly impact the borderlands environment stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, which is home to millions of people, endangered species like jaguars and Mexican gray wolves, and protected federal lands like Big Bend National Park and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
“Trump’s border wall will divide and destroy the incredible communities and wild landscapes along the border,” said Kierán Suckling, the Center’s executive director.
“Endangered species like jaguars and ocelots don’t observe international boundaries and should not be sacrificed for unnecessary border militarization. Their survival and recovery depends on being able to move long distances across the landscape and repopulate places on both sides of the border where they’ve lived for thousands of years.”
Congressman Grijalva’s district is the largest Congressional district in Arizona and includes approximately 300 miles of the U.S./Mexico border.
If successful, today's lawsuit would require the Trump administration to undertake a comprehensive review of the social, economic and environmental costs of the border wall.
Background
The National Environmental Policy Act requires that federal agencies conduct environmental review of a major federal action or program that significantly affects the quality of the human environment.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service — the precursor to the Department of Homeland Security — last updated the “programmatic environmental impact statement” for the U.S.-Mexico border enforcement program in 2001. That review identified the potential impacts of border enforcement operations, including limited border wall construction, on wildlife and endangered species in particular as a significant issue. The 2001 analysis was intended to be effective for five years but has never been updated.
In the 16 years since, the U.S.-Mexico border enforcement program and associated environmental impacts have expanded well beyond the predictions of that document, with deployment of thousands of new border agents, construction of hundreds of miles of border walls and fences, construction and reconstruction of thousands of miles of roads, installation of base camps and other military and security infrastructure, among numerous other actions.
During that same time, scientific understanding of the impacts of border walls and other border enforcement activities on wildlife and endangered species including jaguars, ocelots, Mexican gray wolves and cactus ferruginous pygmy owls has advanced significantly. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has also designated “critical habitat” under the Endangered Species Act within 50 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border for more than 25 species since the outdated 2001 analysis was prepared.
Meanwhile, the number of undocumented migrants moving through the southwestern borderlands is at a historic low, and the border is more secure than it’s ever been.
“The wall is going to be built,”
Well,here's an old song I like;)
Foreseeable delay tactics from the Mexican surrogates.
Now that courts can see a right-leaning SCOTUS, I wonder if they are going to continue to legislate from the bench knowing they will be overturned?
It never looks good to be overturned. Unless you are complete loons like the 9th circus.
If Trump respects this nonsense like the intervention of the Travel Ban, then a single brick ain’t going anywhere.
It’s now very clear that the Dems plan on using black robes to rule the nation since the voting public will not support them.
Trump...get the gonads to toss these folks into jail.
No I truly believe many are just environmentalist idiots. Some have the Mexicans in mind but many really believe their own “environmentalist” ####.
Because no species of anything has ever gone extinct before.
Fill out the entire form with, “Exempted by Presidential authority.”
Grijalva is the best representative Mexico has in the US Congress.
Didn’t congress previously pass legislation that exempted the border wall from environmental laws, etc.? I thought they did this years ago when they then allocated $700M or something for the border.
EPA to Raul: We investigated thoroughly and determined there's no impact. Case closed. In fact, we determined that by not allowing illegals to enter the country with diseases, head lice and all sorts of nasty things the country will see a net positive outcome.
They need to get down to the border and start gathering trash left by smugglers and other illegal traffic. Smugglers and illegals leave large amounts of trash, ruined tires, bumpers, you name it behind along the border. They also damage desert plants, and I am sure they disturb wildlife and all the trash cannot be good for the wildlife either.
Since so-called environmentalists are not interested in damage and trashing done by illegal traffic I have to say they do not care about the environment and their talk and actions are purely political.
Is he here legally, this Grijalva guy?
Senator Gray Volvo?
The environmental waiver was part of the Secure Fence Act but I am not sure if it is still in effect. If not it needs to be reinstated.
The only thing this beaner is worried about is illegal beaners
According to Darwin’s theory, which the left claims to revere, some species are supposed to go extinct.
National Security Raul. You lose.
The jaguar thing is a big scam, no jaguar live in the U.S. to protect.
Congresmman Mustache, proves once agin, he’s a representative for MEXICO.
Now that there is a sharp comment. (i NEVER used “that there” before FR!)
If you believe in evolution, which of course all environmentalists do, then you MUST know that many species have come and gone and that the world survived each and every loss.
So why is it so important that some species in our lifetime may disappear?
Have relatives living in the Tucson burbs - nary a sign of ocelots or jaguars but plenty of UGLY javelina cavorting through their back yard....about as ugly as this congressman.
“”These laws exist to protect the health and well-being of our people””
People aren’t as important as the critters tho’. There are an awful lot of dead “people” in our country due to the protection he thinks is taking place!
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