Tear gas, razor wire, and an invasion of troops _ it's all part a border crisis manufactured by President Donald Trump to get money for his wall. If Democrats and Republicans in Congress do their job, they shouldn't fall for it.
Several major media outlets are reporting that Congress hasn't given Trump one penny for border wall construction, and that the only walls built so far are the eight ridiculous monolith "prototypes" east of San Diego. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
More than 100 people gathered outside Border Patrol headquarters in the border city of McAllen, Texas a few weeks ago. Braving freezing rain, they were protesting concrete plans for concrete walls that will soon be slicing through their communities, and blocking access to the Rio Grande. Last year, Congress handed Trump almost $2 billion for border militarization, and much of it can be used for concrete walls and increased barriers that will cut through communities of people, public lands and the heart of South Texas.
The danger is not only real, it's imminent.
Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park is a top destination for bird watchers and the only public land in the area where camping is allowed along the river. Texas Parks and Wildlife officials warned Border Patrol that the park would be closed to the public _ permanently _ if planned border walls are built.
Next door, the North American Butterfly Association flagship facility, the National Butterfly Center, is fighting to survive. According to the Center's website, the wall Trump plans to build there would "eradicate an enormous amount of native habitat ... create devastating flooding to all property up to two miles behind the wall," and "reduce viable range land for wildlife foraging and mating."
Even the local Catholic Diocese has come out saying that "a border wall 'would in fact be a sign contrary to the Church's mission,'" as Homeland Security tries to take land from the Juan Diego Academy and overshadow the historic La Lomita Chapel with towering new walls.
Construction contracts have already been awarded that could destroy Bentsen, the Butterfly Center, and La Lomita, and wall building is slated to begin in February. Several groups are suing to stop it, but we face an uphill battle: The Department of Homeland Security has used an obscure, 13-year-old authority to waive 27 federal laws for these projects. Without the laws that protect historic sites, endangered species, religious freedom, and more, the local community is left completely vulnerable to the onslaught of walls.
The "border wall" won't be built on the border. In South Texas, border walls will be built on the Rio Grande flood levee as far as two miles from the river/border itself. That means thousands of acres of U.S. riverfront property, agricultural land, wildlife sanctuaries, and much more will end up on the Mexican side of the wall. It is a terrible loss for the United States.
In January of this year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) waived 25 laws and built 20 miles of new walls just west of El Paso, near Santa Teresa, New Mexico. Nevermind that cross-border traffic has been minimal in this formerly wild and beautiful stretch of the Chihuahuan Desert. Wildlife, such as the endangered Mexican gray wolf, are now impeded from accessing the Organ Mountains Desert Peaks National Monument just north of the new wall, and the local communities are confronted with a daily reminder of this administration's anti-immigrant, anti-community prejudices.
With DHS operating above the law, the only way to stop border walls is to stop the funding.
Since spring of 2017, Congress has approved more than a billion U.S. taxpayer dollars that can be used for construction of new walls along the southern border. Much of that money has already been spent on contracts that harm places like Santa Teresa and McAllen.
If that weren't bad enough, Congress is dangerously close to granting billions more in the coming weeks.
Lawmakers who believe in justice for our border communities should not be duped by Trump's over-the-top negotiating style. If he requests tens of billions, don't appease him with one or two billion. Trump deserves zero.
It took only $2.3 billion to impose nearly 550 miles of border walls and barriers a decade ago. Those walls cost U.S. workers and our economy dearly, and provided little to no success in curbing migration and no benefit to national security, according to a recent Stanford study.
If Congress hands over any more money for new border walls, the damage will be tremendous and irreversible.
Now is the time to for us to rise up and stop Congress from robbing the American people, and prevent them from undermining the well-being of our border communities. Our elected representatives should join the majority of Americans who oppose border walls and support humane immigration policies.
Even if you live far from the border, you can make a difference. Contact your two U.S. Senators and your U.S. representative. Tell them this: Not one more penny for the wall!
