News from the Border - Jan 2022

January 19, 2022

"All Our Blogs" / Blog for Borderlands...

Borderlands Update

The Borderlands program is working and collaborating with other organizations on multiple projects to bring awareness to the border communities and the rest of the nation about the current request to the Biden-Harris Administration to stop and/or remove border wall segments that are causing harm to people, communities, wildlife and/or the land and remediate the damages.

These and other harms were facilitated and exacerbated by the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security issuing waivers that bypassed federal, state, and local laws that would otherwise have protected the borderlands.

Get involved!

Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Would you like to volunteer with the Borderlands Program and make a difference?

Please reach out to Borderlands Coordinator: erick.meza@sierraclub.org.

Thank you!

Erick Meza
Borderlands Program Coordinator
Sierra Club - Grand Canyon Chapter

Voices from the Border: SEEDS a Group of Youth Changing the Border Narrative in Nogales AZ

Through our newsletter we are working to feature grassroots efforts along the border. We are especially excited to focus on uplifting grassroots efforts of young people.

We were able to interview three of the agricultural apprentices that are part of the core group of SEEDS Community Agriculture in Nogales. They are building leadership and skills in community based agriculture and environmental stewardship.

Currently they are building a farm at Las Lagunas de Anza located in Nogales. Keep an eye out as we follow their progress.

Facebook: @SEEDSCommunityAgriculture
Instagram: @seedssemillasnogales

Watch the SEEDS Video here.

Department of Homeland Security asking for comments.
Make your voice heard!

Check out the following DHS public announcement.

Border Barrier Remediation Plan
Pima County, Santa Cruz County, and Cochise County- January 2022

Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) is seeking input on proposed remediation actions associated with the construction of border barriers in Cochise, Pima, and Santa Cruz counties, Arizona, within the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) Tucson Sector

CBP is asking for feedback on the Tucson Sector Remediation Plan. Specifically, CBP is seeking input and information to the following questions:

• Are there any other immediate actions that are needed to address life and safety issues, including the protection of the public, USBP agents, and nearby communities from potential harms, and avert further environmental damage or degradation as a result of border barrier construction since 2019?

• What are the highest priority actions?

• Are there best practices the remediation contractor should follow when implementing these activities?

CBP is accepting comments until February 3, 2022
Make your voices heard here: comments

If you have specific recommendations and would also like to send pictures or other documents is recommended to send an email to TucsonComments@cbp.dhs.gov
Please include “Tucson Remediation Plan Comments” in the subject of your email.

Contact Erick Meza for more information about suggestions that are being made by environmental groups. You can reach him at erick.meza@sierraclub.org

Upcoming Event: Binational Webinar "Sacred Territories"

Sacred Territories Flyer, January 22nd, 10am-12PM

Sierra Club Borderlands Program and the Community Organizing team of the Community Food Bank are honored to invite you to the “History of Water on Tohono O’odham and Comcaac Land: A Webinar about the Struggle for Land, Water and Life from the Sonoran Desert”

Register here: Registration

Austin Nunez, Chairman of the San Xavier district of the Tohono O’odham Nation, has focused his work on stopping border wall construction with dialogue and prayers including his work with the Healing the Border Project.

Alberto Mellado, Councilman of the Comcaac Nation in Punta Chueca Sonora, is a leader of the biocultural conservation in the Comcaac territory in Sonora Mex as well as the author of the historical book trilogy "The Comcaac."

The purpose of this webinar series is to bring international attention to indigenous struggles in their fight to defend land and water on both sides of the border. The hope is to build connections, solidarity and gather support for communities defending their territories. Both the Food Bank of Southern Arizona and the Borderlands Program of the Sierra Club are working to provide the space, service and resources to supporting first nations with their struggles in defending sacred water and land, as we recognize that we are located in occupied land and directly benefit from the resources taken from it.

Take Action NOW!

No Border Wall with silhouettes of deer, mountain lion, tortoise, and a person holding a child

Border wall construction at Quitobaquito Springs. Credit: Lucas Mullikin on Twitter

Ensure Land Defenders David Manuel (Tohono O’odham) and Riley Conklin Don’t Spend a Single Day in Jail!

While peacefully protesting and singing traditional O’odham songs along Highway 85 on Indigenous Peoples’ Day in 2020, David Manuel (Tohono O’odham), Riley Conklin, and dozens of other Indigenous activists and allies were met with rubber bullets and tear gas. Twelve people were arrested and charged for protesting that morning. All charges were dropped from this action except those against David and Riley. The two were found guilty this past November with a Class 3 Misdemeanor charge for Obstruction of Public Thoroughfare, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 days in jail.

The protest was in opposition to the construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall, which has devastated miles of traditional Hia Ced O’odham Territory (also known as Organ Pipe National Monument). The decimation of this sacred space has disturbed land, water, wildlife, and O’odham culture in irreparable ways. This damage signals a continuation of trauma and displacement directed at O’odham peoples who have faced decades of colonization and thievery of their lands.

Sign: actionnetwork.org/petitions/nojail4davidriley/
Take action: tinyurl.com/NoJail4David-Riley

Remediation NOW!

The only way to be able to get the remediation and proper actions needed for the damage created in the borderlands is having the funds to be able to do so.

Investment should be done to support regenerative natural and social systems and not more degenerative walls.

Join 100 environmental, wildlife and civil rights organizations in urging Congress to rescind any remaining funding for border wall construction and related infrastructure and to provide resources to restore and repair border communities and lands to mitigate the harms caused by border wall projects. It is critical that no additional funding is included in the final FY2022 appropriations bill and work is begun on mending border communities and ecosystems.

Read our letter: https://dfnd.us/3HNpYQE

Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter

Related blogs:

Blog for Borderlands

News from the Border - Jan 2022

Borderlands Update

Department of Homeland Security asking for comments. Make your voice heard!

Related blogs:

Related content:

Department of Homeland Security asking for comments.
Make your voice heard!