Courtney Bourgoin, courtney.bourgoin@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC— Yesterday, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office released a report revealing major flaws in the Trump administration’s border wall projects. The report declares that the administration did not use “sound methodology” when identifying areas to be walled, failed to consider the exceedingly high cost to taxpayers, and that the administration has not proven the effectiveness of the barriers. Despite these findings, the Trump administration has said it will spend $1.8 billion U.S. taxpayer dollars on walls, and has imposed 235 miles of border wall to date— blasting Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, tearing up sacred Tribal sites and lands, and bulldozing many other sensitive environments for construction. See the full report here.
In response, Dan Millis, Program Manager of the Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter Borderlands Program, released the following statement:
“This report makes clear what we’ve known: Trump’s border wall is stripping communities of dwindling resources needed to fight the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, destroying sacred and irreparable Tribal lands, and forever decimating our environment for a wall that has been declared useless and ineffective by his own administration. The border wall must be stopped, and funding must be allocated to border communities for mitigation and restoration from the wall’s damage.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, 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.