April Thomas, 206.321.3850, april.thomas@sierraclub.org
Washington, D.C. -- Today, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that it will waive environmental laws in order to construct gates between sections of border barriers in South Texas' Rio Grande Valley.
The agency claims that the lands behind the new gates will remain accessible, but local advocates are concerned that promise will not be kept, based on past actions from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB). When a gate was installed in the border wall between the Old Hidalgo Pumphouse World Birding Center and the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, CBP promised that it would be open during daylight hours to allow access for birders and ecotourists. That promise remains unfulfilled, and the gate has never been opened for the public.
In response, co-chair of the Sierra Club’s Borderland Team Scott Nicol issued the following statement:
“Every time the Trump administration waives laws to build border walls, they demonstrate their fundamental disregard for the rule of law. These laws were enacted to protect communities and the environment and there is no justification for ‘waiving’ them in order to install gates into border walls.
“They are waiving these laws because they know that the planned border wall gates will violate them. The Farmland Policy Protection Act is being waived because the gates will restrict access to family farms. The Endangered Species Act and National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act are being waived because federal wildlife refuges created to protect endangered ocelots will be impacted by these gates.
“We are also concerned by the fact that local, directly impacted communities were not consulted about the decision to waive laws that protect their rights. There have been no public forums at which residents could learn about, much less provide input on, these gates or border walls.
No federal agency should be allowed to operate outside of the law. The Sierra Club calls upon Congress to repeal section 102 of the REAL ID Act, the provision that facilitates these types of waivers.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.