WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife heard expert testimony on the state of wildlife in the United States. Wildlife in every part of the nation face new threats from the effects of climate change on habitat, the Trump administration’s plans to gut the protection of the Endangered Species Act, and continued efforts to construct a wall along the U.S. Southern border which fragments migration corridors and increases flooding, resulting in more destruction of habitat.
Washington, DC-- Today, President Trump released his annual budget proposal which included some of the steepest proposed cuts yet to federal agencies that protect the health of the public and environment while increasing funds for more border wall by $8.6 billion. The border wall budget request comes after a 35-day-long government shutdown that ultimately ended in $1.3 billion more for border walls and Trump’s declaration of a national emergency in an attempt to gain more funds for construction on top of what was already allocated.
Mission, TX-- Today, 12 U.S. Military veterans from the Sierra Club Military Outdoors team and two activists from the Tohono O’odham Nation will begin peacefully camping in at the National Butterfly Center in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, protesting in solidarity with communities along the borderlands and those opposing the border wall. The veterans will highlight the devastating effects of the border wall by meeting with residents and visiting sites in the area in solidarity with borderlands communities and lands.
Washington, DC-- Today, Senators Udall (D-NM) and Collins (R-ME) introduced a bipartisan resolution to terminate the president’s national emergency declaration and uphold the separation of powers outlined in the Constitution. The introduction comes just days after the House overwhelmingly voted to do the same.
Mission, TX – Veterans from Sierra Club’s Military Outdoors program will be tent camping on the grounds of the National Butterfly Center from March 5th-12th to protest the border wall, amplify stories of residents of the border and take a stand for communities and lands. The veterans aim to bear witness to the injustices being inflicted on the border communities and amplify the perspectives of Rio Grande Valley residents.
Today, in a 245-182 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution to overturn Trump’s emergency declaration that would move funds from critical national security budgets to build border walls. See the Sierra Club’s letter on the resolution.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX), along with more than 222 co-sponsors, introduced a resolution to reverse Trump’s emergency declaration to build a border wall.
WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union, Sierra Club, ACLU of Texas, and ACLU of Northern California today filed a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s emergency powers declaration to secure funds to build a wall along the southern border. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Sierra Club and the Southern Border Communities Coalition and was filed in the Northern District of California.
San Diego, CA-- Moments ago, the Department of Homeland Security announced that the federal government will waive more than 30 laws to replace border wall and add secondary wall in southern California. The protections waived include, but are not limited to, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, among tens of others. The waivers apply to land ranging more than fourteen miles east from the Pacific Ocean.
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.
Albuquerque, NM -- Today, New Mexico Senators Heinrich and Udall introduced a three-bill package addressing environmental and community concerns related to the border wall. Included in the legislation aimed to protect wildlife, Native American sites and people, one bill would amend the Real ID Act to prohibit the federal government’s ability to waive environmental, health and safety laws to build more border wall.
McAllen, TX-- Today, Donald Trump visited the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas to push for billions of dollars in border wall funding that has caused an ongoing, three-week government shutdown. McAllen, listed as one of the safest towns in the country by the FBI, has been the epicenter of the administration-caused humanitarian crisis on the border.