SC Gets Hold on Trump’s Border Wall in Texas

On Friday, May 24^th, Haywood Gilliam of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted a preliminary injunction that prevents the Trump Administration from taking any action to further the construction of the border wall in certain parts of Texas where construction was imminent. The injunction applies specifically to some of the money the administration intended to allocate from other agencies, and it limits wall construction projects in El Paso, Tex., and Yuma, Ariz. The legal action was a partnership between Sierra Club and ACLU.

“The injunction granted by Judge Gilliam is a win against Trump’s boarder wall. There will be no action to advance construction while the injunction is in place. President Trump is trying to build a wall this country does not need and abusing his power to get it. A completed wall is not only a human disaster but will disrupt and destroy sensitive habitats for wildlife and put 100s of endangered species at risk. This ruling is a victory for now, but we have to fight and keep on fighting to make sure this wall will never be built,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “An injunction means that the Judge believes we have established a prima facie case. This means the judge felt that there is enough compelling evidence to get a stay on a government agency.”

Judge Gilliam who is overseeing a pair of lawsuits over border wall financing, ruled that the administration’s efforts likely overstep the president’s statutory authority. She wrote that the idea that the president can act “without Congress” when lawmakers refuse a funding request from the White House “does not square with fundamental separation of powers principles dating back to the earliest days of our Republic.”

“Existing barriers have already created significant environmental damage along the border, and a completed wall would only worsen the impact. A completed wall would put endangered species at risk, cutting them off from their migratory paths and leaving them isolated. Part of the wall’s route will cut directly through the National Butterfly Center, a land preserve on the U.S.-Mexico border that supports 200 species of butterflies,” said Tittel.

President Trump sought $5.7 billion to finance a steel wall along more than 200 miles of the border; Congress instead appropriated about $1.4 billion for fencing that would cover 55 miles. The Trump Administration was not satisfied and wrote in a memo they would redirect $601 million from the Treasury’s forfeiture fund, up to $2.5 billion from the Department of Defense funds and $3.6 billion from the Department of Defense capital projects. 16 states, including New Jersey and the Sierra Club sued the administration from moving the funds.

“Trump is trying to make unlawful money grabs from the Department of Defense for the sake of his presidential pledge of a failing concept. His boarder wall has had bipartisan opposition from the Capitol and over a dozen states. The Sierra Club has been fighting the boarder wall for more than a decade and we will keep on fighting. We cannot let Trump get away with sacrificing our safety, our health, and our environment,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We thank Judge Giliam for granting the injunction and putting the people and environment first.”