Egregious Request for $5Bil in Border Wall, Militarization Money Must Be Thrown Out

Washington, DC— Today, the House Appropriations Committee marked up a budget that includes $5 billion for a border wall— the most money that’s appeared in an appropriations bill to date. A Republican on the committee told Washington Post the monies would fund “a wall plus”— “physical barriers in some spots, as well as other security mechanisms in places along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border where a wall might not be practical.” The enormous allocation poses grave risks to human safety and sensitive Southwest U.S. ecosystems  and could fund 200 miles of new wall.The House version of these funds more than triples the Senate’s $1.6 billion border wall allocation that was marked up last month— initiating a face-off between the chambers.

In response, Athan Manuel, Director for Sierra Club Lands Policy, released the following statement:

“Any funds at all for this wall are unnecessary and wrong, but spending more than 5 billion dollars of American taxpayers’ money will have enormous and detrimental consequences on communities and our environment. This egregious funding proposal should be thrown out immediately.

“This boondoggle wall and other militarization efforts that will sacrifice access to safe drinking water, wildlife, and wild places for a false sense of security. Instead, we should be funding infrastructure, underfunded education and poverty reduction programs and investing in our communities.

“What’s happening on the border is all connected. The inhumane treatment of immigrants and efforts to militarize our communities are a part of an agenda to dehumanize people and drive hate and fear in our country. Sierra Club is in total solidarity with borderlands and immigrant communities. Our fight for healthy and safe environments cannot be separated from a broader, critical goal of human rights and environmental justice.”