Courtney Bourgoin, courtney.bourgoin@sierraclub.org
Arizona/ Texas-- Last night, AP reported that the Trump Administration began preparation for the construction of concrete border walls in the Texas’ Rio Grande Valley and deployed miles of razor wire to place on border barriers in Nogales, Arizona.
Heavy equipment rolled onto the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, where the construction of fourteen miles of concrete walls, some as tall as 35 feet, is scheduled to begin this month. Construction vehicles also plowed through National Butterfly Center property (pictured here).
Texas: The new miles of wall are a result of the 2018 omnibus budget that included $1.6 billion for border barriers and walls in the Rio Grande Valley. Sometimes called “levee walls,” the new barriers would physically place U.S. land on the south side of the wall -- preventing U.S. border community residents from reaching their lands and restricting their access to the river. Extensive coverage shows the barriers threaten to close down a historic chapel, a state park, and the National Butterfly Center.
Arizona: In Nogales, U.S. Army personnel this weekend deployed triple and quadruple layers of razor wire along the 18-foot and taller border walls that already exist there. The installation of razor wire also extended past the city and into the Santa Cruz River floodplain.
In response, Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter Director Reggie James released the following statement:
"These walls won't make us any safer. Instead, they are an insult to communities that could put this money to much better use by investing in health care, schools and sustainable economic development. We don't need razor wire and walls. We need investment in our infrastructure, in a clean environment and in protection for the Santa Cruz and Rio Grande Rivers-- our life- sustaining resources in the borderlands region.”
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.