Border wall story

Again, sorry it took a while for me to get this posted.

On the Borderline: The border between Mexico and the US

It's said that the only thing the border wall stops between Mexico and the US is wildlife. Writer Charles Bowden described the southern border as “a great biological unity, with a meat cleaver of laws shredding it and cutting it in half.” The 1,952-mile border slices through many national parks as well as wildlife refuges.

So far, the wall spans 850 miles. The separation barriers were built as part of three Operations to curtail illegal immigration: Operation Gatekeeper in California; Operation Hold-the-Line in Texas; Operation Safeguard in Arizona. The environmental impact coupled with government expenditure (estimates for construction range from $4 billion to $46 billion) and acknowledged inefficiency from Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff himself, calls for a closer look at the long- and short-term effects of constructing the barrier.

The separation barriers were built as part of three Operations to curtail illegal immigration: Operation Gatekeeper in California; Operation Hold-the-Line in Texas; Operation Safeguard in Arizona.

Construction of the wall is not subject to any environmental laws thanks to an Act passed in 2005 giving unlimited authority and legal freedom to Chertoff to ensure "expeditious construction of the barriers and roads." The waivers disregard environmental impact assessments (EPAs) and public comments, according to Christine Williamson, chairperson of wildlife and endangered species committee of the Sierra Club. He has so far used this to waive the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act, according to the Texas Sierra Club website.

In Texas, it was estimated that 60-75 percent of the protected lands and refuges in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas would be affected. Several environmental groups claim the wall would block river access, destroy essential vegetation and disrupt migratory patterns of animals, including two endangered species of local wildcats, the ocelot and the jaguarundi. According to Williamson, male ocelots live on the Mexico side and have to swim across the river to breed.

The Rio Grande Valley ranks third in the country in terms of the number of endangered and threatened species, and habitat loss poses one of the area's biggest threats (Texas Sierra Club).

In Arizona, the borderlands region is predominantly comprised of protected federal lands, including Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge and Coronado National Forest. The wall has pushed illegal immigration from urban areas to the more remote parts of the border. Border Patrol estimates that 39 species protected or proposed to be protected under the Endangered Species Act are already being affected by the operations.

According to Williamson, the wall only slows an illegal migrant by five minutes. "[The wall] is a speed bump that will destroy the ecosystem," she said. "I've seen [the wall. It's lit up like an alien spaceship at night. It is the worst symbol you can see for a country founded by immigrants."

While the effects of the immigration crisis is increasingly receiving national attention, the ongoing destruction of the borderland environment is largely unknown to the public at large.