Donald Trump is blowing off dozens of environmental protections in order to accelerate his wasteful border wall project on the southern border of the United States.
According to The Hill, “The Trump administration is waiving dozens of environmental regulations to speed up construction of President Trump’s proposed wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.”
In a notice published Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Kirsten Nielsen listed the rules the administration is waiving in order to speed up the construction project, which the public doesn’t want and experts say we don’t even need.
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The waiver excludes rules from major laws including the National Environment Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, the National Historic Preservation Act and the Antiquities Act, among others.
The notice claims that the “El Paso Sector is an area of high illegal entry,” citing its proximity to the city of Ciudad of Juarez, and will allow for vehicle barriers to be replaced with bollard wall for 20 miles on the border.
“The Secretary of Homeland Security has determined, pursuant to law, that it is necessary to waive certain laws, regulations and other legal requirements in order to ensure the expeditious construction of barriers and roads in the vicinity of the international land border of the United States near the Santa Teresa Land Port of Entry in the state of New Mexico,” the waiver reads.
The Hill adds that one environmental organization – the Center for Biological Diversity – is considering taking legal action against the administration.
“The Trump administration is stopping at nothing to ram through this destructive border wall,” said the group’s senior attorney Brian Segee, according to The Washington Examiner. “Trump’s divisive border wall is a humanitarian and environmental disaster, and it won’t do anything to stop illegal drug or human smuggling.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time Trump has flaunted his disregard for the environment. His administration has taken step after step to dismantle environmental protections implemented during Barack Obama’s presidency.
It’s bad enough that Trump is trying to implement a wasteful, destructive and inhumane immigration policy that the vast majority of Americans don’t support. Worse, he’s now doing it at the expense of our environment.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
