CBP
Flooding at the wall in Nogales, 2008.
The compromise announced May 1 by Democrats and Republicans to avoid a federal government shutdown delivered a defeat for Donald Trump’s demand that a sea-to-sea border wall be funded to the tune of more than a billion dollars. However the deal includes more than $1 billion in programs that will cause additional environmental destruction in the borderlands and increase human suffering nationwide.
Among the deal’s worst features are $526 million for a nearly 16 percent increase in immigrant incarceration, a giveaway to the private prison industry that heartlessly profiteers on the backs of immigrants. Meanwhile, the deal only provides one-tenth that amount for alternatives to detention.
It also includes $146 million for construction of 20 new miles of so-called pedestrian barrier. The new wall funding slipped past because they are disguised as simple “replacement barriers.” Unfortunately the barriers they would be replacing are vehicle barriers, which are much friendlier to wildlife and water than so-called pedestrian barriers.
Border walls block wildlife migrations and fragment habitat in wild areas, threatening the survival of endangered species such as the jaguar and the ocelot. Walls also cause destructive flooding in border communities, such as the 2008 flood in Nogales, where two people drowned when the wall acted as a dam.
Other needless border militarization in the bill includes millions of dollars for unneeded roads, surveillance, deportation, and a “surge” in enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border.
As we look ahead to the FY2018 budget, it’s vital to remember that, because they don’t address the root causes, none of these enforcement-only approaches will solve border problems. The Sierra Club supports comprehensive immigration reform with a just path to citizenship for those living in the shadows. We support fair trade and sustainable development programs that can help would-be immigrants thrive in their home countries.
The Sierra Club has been fighting for justice on the border for more than a decade. Learn more about our Borderlands program online, on Facebook or on Twitter. Most importantly, take action today by telling Congress: No more money for border walls!