Trump fast tracks 69 miles of border wall, ‘risking wildlife habitats,’ Texas rep says

A portion of President Donald Trump’s border wall along the Texas-Mexico border was expedited Friday, a move that was harshly criticized by a Texas U.S. representative.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a waiver of “certain laws, regulations and other legal requirements” to fast track construction of the border, it said in a release. The construction will take place along a 69-mile stretch in Webb and Zapata counties near Laredo, the Texas Tribune reported.

Henry Cuellar, a Democrat who represents the 28th District of Texas, called the Trump administration’s border wall “wasteful” and said his focus should be on the coronavirus pandemic.

“By issuing an environmental waiver to expedite the process of construction, this administration is merely attempting to fulfill campaign promises — all while wasting taxpayer money, removing environmental safeguards and risking wildlife habitats,” Cuellar said.

Chad Wolf, Secretary of Homeland Security, told reporters this week wall construction is important during the coronavirus pandemic “to move resources to other areas of the border that are very difficult to control,” ABC News reported.

However, part of the border wall plan in Arizona would “wall off the last jaguar migration paths and bulldoze Arizona’s Sky Island mountains,” according to the Center for Biological Diversity.

Earlier this month, a $275 million contract was awarded to start a 14-mile stretch of the border wall in Laredo, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced.

“The Laredo Sector is an area of high illegal activity, with over 21,000 illegal alien apprehensions and over 19,000 pounds of drugs seized” this fiscal year, the federal organization said.

The Department of Justice is attempting to conduct surveys for wall construction at multiple properties in Laredo, including the Sacred Heart Children’s Home, the Laredo Morning Times reported last month. The government reportedly requested access for a year at the facility

“We’re deeply concerned about the potential negative impact the construction of the border wall may pose for the future operation of this much-needed facility in our city,” Mercurio Martinez Jr., chairman of the children’s home advisory board, told the Laredo newspaper.