Border Wall
On April 1st, Michael Chertoff, the United States Secretary of Homeland Security, signed a notice of determination to waive almost three dozen federal, state, and local laws and regulations (PDF) in order to build 670 miles of Mexico-U.S. border wall across the environmentally sensitive Southwest by December 2008.
- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) waivers will harm Native American communities and
religious freedom. Among the laws which DHS is waiving are the Native
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, and the American Indian Religious Freedom Act,
and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. According to Indian Country Today, "Under the waiver, more than 55 miles on the Tohono O'odham
Reservation in Arizona would be affected, as well as several miles on lands
owned by individual Indians and on other Indian communities."
- The DHS waivers
will harm the environment and endangered species. Chertoff's signature will allow the
Department of Homeland Security to violate with impunity the Endangered Species Act, the National Environment Policy Act, the Clean Air Act, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the
Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and more.
- The DHS waivers will damage border communities and the preservation of our national heritage. The Farmland Protection Policy Act, the Historic Sites, Buildings, and Antiquities Act, and the Antiquities Act signed by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906.
Michael Chertoff was granted the ability to waive laws by Section 102 of the Real ID Act which Congress passed in 2005. "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall have the authority to waive all legal requirements such Secretary, in such Secretary's sole discretion, determines necessary to ensure expeditious construction of the barriers and roads under this section."
Representative Grijalva of Arizona has proposed the Borderlands Conservation and Security Act, H.R.2593, which would repeal Section 102 of REAL ID, ensuring that the Department of Homeland Security remains accountable to the laws which protect our religious freedom, health, and safety.
To send an email to your Representative asking him or her to support H.R. 2593, check out our online Action Campaign.
To learn more about the DHS waivers and the potential harm they could cause, check out the following resources:
Native American Communities and Religious Freedom
- Read Indian Country Today's article NAGPRA waived to build U.S.-Mexico fence.
The Environment and Endangered Species
- Defenders of Wildlife. Their website on "Wildlife and Border Policy" has many wonderful resources, including a map (PDF) which shows the locations of the 470 miles along the border where the waivers will override laws, and a list of the species at risk. Also, read about how Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club are taking Chertoff to court to prove that the waivers are unconstitutional.
From the Weblog of the UUA Advocacy & Witness Staff Group
The Waivers
Take a look at the April 1 waivers with Chertoff's signature:
- A waiver for various project areas (PDF) in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, encompassing roughly 470 total miles, to facilitate additional pedestrian and vehicle fence construction, towers, sensors, cameras, detection equipment, and roads in the vicinity of the border.
- An additional waiver specifically for the levee-border barrier project (PDF) in Hidalgo County, TX.
Last updated on Thursday, February 19, 2009.
