Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is accepting comments about their extreme border wall plans in South Texas which include
- Concrete levee-border walls topped with 18-feet-tall steel bollards which will wall off all of Hidalgo County from the Rio Grande.
- Border walls built in the Rio Grande floodplain in Starr County that will be 20 to 30-feet-tall.
- A 150-foot wide enforcement zone on the south/river side of all these walls where they will rip out trees and keep all vegetation from growing.
You can read about their destructive plans in the letter they sent to a handful of organizations.
Please cut and paste the following email addresses and send a comment in order to express your outrage about this drastic action to both CBP and to Texas Senators Cornyn and Cruz:
commentsenv@cbp.dhs.gov, Ana_Garcia@Cornyn.senate.gov, Casandra_Garcia@cruz.senate.gov
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Email Subject: RGV Wall and Gates Construction |
Comments are due October 20, 2017.
Sample letter you can copy and paste from:
I am opposed to the construction of the Trump administration’s border walls. I am also opposed to the construction of levee-border walls, bollard walls, 150-ft enforcement zones, border wall gates, massive industrial lighting, and all-weather roads.
These border wall structures are symbols of racism and xenophobia, they involve the condemnation of farms and ancestral lands, and they destroy wildlife habitat and refuges. This border wall project would also violate the treaty that establishes the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo as the United States- Mexico border which forbids either nation from building structures in the floodplain that would worsen flooding.
Levee-border walls would cut off thousands of acres of farmland, put the historic La Lomita Chapel in no-man’s-land between the border wall and the border, and would restrict access to trails at the Bentsen Rio Grande State Park and World Birding Center, the National Butterfly Center, and Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. Bollard walls can act as dams and would worsen flooding conditions in communities on both sides of the river such as Roma and Ciudad Alemán.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) should release more information about its border wall plans immediately. They should also host multiple public meetings in the Rio Grande Valley communities that will be impacted by border walls. Undocumented residents attending these public meetings should be assured that they can participate without fear of arrest and deportation. CBP should also comply with all of our nation’s laws, not waive those that it sees as inconvenient.
The Sierra Club has submitted an extensive comment you can read it here.
I am opposed to the construction of the Trump’s administration border wall…I lived in the LRGV most of my life and to think that this wall can bring so much damage to our beautiful Flora and fauna, specially our endangered species, breaks my heart. I am not against securing our borders but let’s do it with up to date technology. We already know and has been proven that these walls don’t work…Why waste so much money on the construction of it. I am for using my tax money on supporting our border patrol agents with great and more useful technology gadgets to have our borders secured. Why destroy Gods beautiful creation such as Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge, Mission Butterfly Center and La Lomita just to name a few destinations that are sacred for our people and our community. These places bring a lot of revenue to our cities as people come from all over the world to discover our Wildlife preservation in this areas. I invite you to come to the LRGV if you have not been here. Take a walk with your family at Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge in the morning at sunrise, middle of the day and at sunset… You will be touched by discovering our beauty and the diversity of our wildlife that exists in this “jewel” …Your experience will be a different one from sunrise, to middle of the day and sunset. Please help us preserve our beautiful gifts from God. Please help us stop the construction of a wall that will kill our beautiful flora and fauna. Please help us use our tax money wisely to secure our borders. Please come and visit our LRGV and the places that are endangered with the construction of a useless border wall before making a decision. The LRGV and the border of Mexico create a great corridor for many of our fauna…Please, please, please…We are the voice of these wildlife animals that will suffer the consequences of a border wall. My beautiful LRGV deserves to be maintained and not to be destroy. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, I pray you make the right decision to preserve and not destroy our “Jewel” Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge, Mission Butterfly Center, and La Lomita just to name a few!
Sincerely,
Michelle Sternberg.
Thank you, Michelle!
We have corrected this post to reflect the correct email CBP address: commentsenv@cbp.dhs.gov We would appreciate it if you make sure you got it right.
I am opposed to the construction of the Trump administration’s border walls. I am also opposed to the construction of levee-border walls, bollard walls, 150-ft enforcement zones, border wall gates, massive industrial lighting, and all-weather roads.
These border wall structures are symbols of racism and xenophobia, they involve the condemnation of farms and ancestral lands, and they destroy wildlife habitat and refuges. This border wall project would also violate the treaty that establishes the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo as the United States- Mexico border which forbids either nation from building structures in the floodplain that would worsen flooding.
Levee-border walls would cut off thousands of acres of farmland, put the historic La Lomita Chapel in no-man’s-land between the border wall and the border, and would restrict access to trails at the Bentsen Rio Grande State Park and World Birding Center, the National Butterfly Center, and Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. Bollard walls can act as dams and would worsen flooding conditions in communities on both sides of the river such as Roma and Ciudad Alemán.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) should release more information about its border wall plans immediately. They should also host multiple public meetings in the Rio Grande Valley communities that will be impacted by border walls. Undocumented residents attending these public meetings should be assured that they can participate without fear of arrest and deportation. CBP should also comply with all of our nation’s laws, not waive those that it sees as inconvenient.
Thank you, Jean!
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No WALLS!! People need money for hurricane
Ne relief, not for building ugly ass structures that hurt our wildlife environment.
I am opposed to building a solid structural wall of any kind. The ecological and national psycological destruction that it will achieve on so many levels makes this a ridiculous expenditure at a time when so many other parts of the government need support….e.g. FEMA! Hurricane season is far from over!
We have corrected this post to reflect the correct email CBP address: commentsenv@cbp.dhs.gov We would appreciate it if you make sure you got it right.
Please no more walls. That wall will have a horrible impact to the fauna and flora. Also FEMA needs help with all the hurricanes and possible flooding. The construction of that wall will make this country look like a racist and would be very bad for business in south Texas.
Build bridges not walls.
Thanks
Please save the unique habitats for future generations.
I oppose the wall..it will destroy the reason many people spend winters and money in RGV.
I am opposed to the construction of the Trump administration’s border walls. I am also opposed to the construction of levee-border walls, bollard walls, 150-ft enforcement zones, border wall gates, massive industrial lighting, and all-weather roads.
These border wall structures are symbols of racism and xenophobia, they involve the condemnation of farms and ancestral lands, and they destroy wildlife habitat and refuges. This border wall project would also violate the treaty that establishes the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo as the United States- Mexico border which forbids either nation from building structures in the floodplain that would worsen flooding.
Levee-border walls would cut off thousands of acres of farmland, put the historic La Lomita Chapel in no-man’s-land between the border wall and the border, and would restrict access to trails at the Bentsen Rio Grande State Park and World Birding Center, the National Butterfly Center, and Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. Bollard walls can act as dams and would worsen flooding conditions in communities on both sides of the river such as Roma and Ciudad Alemán.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) should release more information about its border wall plans immediately. They should also host multiple public meetings in the Rio Grande Valley communities that will be impacted by border walls. Undocumented residents attending these public meetings should be assured that they can participate without fear of arrest and deportation. CBP should also comply with all of our nation’s laws, not waive those that it sees as inconvenient.
We have corrected this post to reflect the correct email CBP address: commentsenv@cbp.dhs.gov We would appreciate it if you make sure you got it right.
It is appalling to think of the negative impact a border wall will have on wildlife migration and natural habitat in some areas of Texas. Perhaps in places where there is sensitivity to the natural environment, a different approach to border security shoukd be considered. I am sure there are other options to secure our borders against illegal immigrants, human trafficking, gang violence, and drug cartels other than building a physical wall.
No Border Wall it’s a waste of money. We want to be able to enjoy our birds and butterflies. We will not be able to do this with a wall cutting right thru our parks and reserves. Many people come from all over the world to see the migration of birds and butterflies in Hildago County. Us the money for something good like helping the people who need homes after Harvey.
I oppose the walls along our border in Texas. The birds and animals need that corridor to move back and forth. Trumps wall is just something he wants to do so he can say he did something. But that “something” will destroy part of our beautiful country.
I am opposed to the construction of the Trump administration’s border walls. I am also opposed to the construction of levee-border walls, bollard walls, 150-ft enforcement zones, border wall gates, massive industrial lighting, and all-weather roads.
These border wall structures are symbols of racism and xenophobia, they involve the condemnation of farms and ancestral lands, and they destroy wildlife habitat and refuges. This border wall project would also violate the treaty that establishes the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo as the United States- Mexico border which forbids either nation from building structures in the floodplain that would worsen flooding.
Levee-border walls would cut off thousands of acres of farmland, put the historic La Lomita Chapel in no-man’s-land between the border wall and the border, and would restrict access to trails at the Bentsen Rio Grande State Park and World Birding Center, the National Butterfly Center, and Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. Bollard walls can act as dams and would worsen flooding conditions in communities on both sides of the river such as Roma and Ciudad Alemán.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) should release more information about its border wall plans immediately. They should also host multiple public meetings in the Rio Grande Valley communities that will be impacted by border walls. Undocumented residents attending these public meetings should be assured that they can participate without fear of arrest and deportation. CBP should also comply with all of our nation’s laws, not waive those that it sees as inconvenient.
We have corrected this post to reflect the correct email CBP address: commentsenv@cbp.dhs.gov We would appreciate it if you make sure you got it right.
I am opposed to building a border wall and destroying more of our environment. The United States corporations have used and abused Mexico for generations, people are leaving because of the ecological, economic, and political abuse heaped upon them for a very long time.
We have corrected this post to reflect the correct email CBP address: commentsenv@cbp.dhs.gov We would appreciate it if you make sure you got it right.
I am opposed to a border wall. It would interrupt the flow of ecology as well as communication and peace among all beings on either side. It would be a waste of money that could help so many.
We have corrected this post to reflect the correct email CBP address: commentsenv@cbp.dhs.gov We would appreciate it if you make sure you got it right.
When people that do not understand the area that is being affected by their actions should learn to do their homework, before they make decisions that will affect so many. I am definitely against the building of a Border Wall.
Who and what is it really going to affect should have been the first question asked and yet, was never asked, nor did the people that decided that it was a good idea, ever consider the answer.
As already pointed out it affects the lives of farmers, cities, the economy of the Valley, the history and the flora and fauna that this area depends on in so many ways.
We have corrected this post to reflect the correct email CBP address: commentsenv@cbp.dhs.gov We would appreciate it if you make sure you got it right.
Hey Trump I thought you was a man of business. Ain’t this the biggest waste of money? Bush already tried the fence, and a wall now? Ya know shits just gonna go under or over? Ya just wanna feel privacy, huh? Because that’s all it is, just a privacy fence so your neighbors don’t see you. I am opposed to the wall, their is a lot more better ways of spending the money you got left.
We have corrected this post to reflect the correct email CBP address: commentsenv@cbp.dhs.gov We would appreciate it if you make sure you got it right.
I am opposed to the construction of the Trump administration’s border walls. I am also opposed to the construction of levee-border walls, bollard walls, 150-ft enforcement zones, border wall gates, massive industrial lighting, and all-weather roads.
We have corrected this post to reflect the correct email CBP address: commentsenv@cbp.dhs.gov We would appreciate it if you make sure you got it right.
I am opposed to a border wall because of the harm it will do to migrating Monarch Butterflies and birds and the quality of life of humans in the area..
We have corrected this post to reflect the correct email CBP address: commentsenv@cbp.dhs.gov We would appreciate it if you make sure you got it right.
We do not need this wall !!! Trump tare down this wall !!!
We have corrected this post to reflect the correct email CBP address: commentsenv@cbp.dhs.gov We would appreciate it if you make sure you got it right.
As a senior citizen … I feel so sad that I cannot get up and SCREAM about what is happening to America and Mexico! NO WALL .. NO WALL. Prayers, prayers for the beauty to still be glorious when our world heals!
We have corrected this post to reflect the correct email CBP address: commentsenv@cbp.dhs.gov We would appreciate it if you make sure you got it right.
As a biologist, I am opposed to the construction of the Trump administration’s border walls, along with the construction of levee-border walls, bollard walls, 150-ft enforcement zones, border wall gates, massive industrial lighting, and all-weather roads in the Rio Grande Valley as well as refuge fragmentation.
I have lived, been educated, and am now employed as a biology teacher. I lived first in Brownsville on E. Elizabeth St. at the Ft. Brown Villas during the years that Friendship Gardens was torn down and replaced by a larger and more secure border station. During those years, Central Americans were crossing the Matamoros/Brownsville bridge in great numbers and yet there was no rampant crime wave.
I was educated at UT Brownsville and did my master’s work at South Padre Island at the Coastal Studies Lab, I know the importance of wildlife, water, and wetlands for sustainable ecosystems in our RGV area. The fragmentation of our wildlife refuges brings severe disruptions that affect the economy and health of our region. This fragmentation is now happening at Santa Ana Refuge through a border wall and Laguna Atascosa NWR through real estate development and LNG export terminals which are destroying valuable wetlands that absorb and buffer flooding.
Levee-border walls would cut off thousands of acres of farmland, putting the historic La Lomita Chapel in a no-man’s-land between the border wall and the actual border and restricting access to trails at the Bentsen Rio Grande State Park and World Birding Center, the National Butterfly Center, and the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. Bollard walls can act as dams, worsening flooding conditions in communities on both sides of the river such as Roma and Ciudad Alemán.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) should release more information about its border wall plans immediately. They should also host multiple public meetings in the Rio Grande Valley communities that will be directly impacted by border walls. Undocumented residents attending these public meetings should be assured that they can participate without fear of arrest and deportation. CBP should also comply with all of our nation’s laws, not waive those that it sees as inconvenient.
We have corrected this post to reflect the correct email CBP address: commentsenv@cbp.dhs.gov We would appreciate it if you make sure you got it right.
I am opposed to the construction of the Trump administration’s border walls. I am also opposed to the construction of levee-border walls, bollard walls, 150-ft enforcement zones, border wall gates, massive industrial lighting, and all-weather roads.
These border wall structures are symbols of racism and xenophobia, they involve the condemnation of farms and ancestral lands, and they destroy wildlife habitat and refuges. This border wall project would also violate the treaty that establishes the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo as the United States- Mexico border which forbids either nation from building structures in the floodplain that would worsen flooding.
Levee-border walls would cut off thousands of acres of farmland, put the historic La Lomita Chapel in no-man’s-land between the border wall and the border, and would restrict access to trails at the Bentsen Rio Grande State Park and World Birding Center, the National Butterfly Center, and Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. Bollard walls can act as dams and would worsen flooding conditions in communities on both sides of the river such as Roma and Ciudad Alemán.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) should release more information about its border wall plans immediately. They should also host multiple public meetings in the Rio Grande Valley communities that will be impacted by border walls. Undocumented residents attending these public meetings should be assured that they can participate without fear of arrest and deportation. CBP should also comply with all of our nation’s laws, not waive those that it sees as inconvenient.
Sincerely,
Pat Kyrk
We have corrected this post to reflect the correct email CBP address: commentsenv@cbp.dhs.gov We would appreciate it if you make sure you got it right.
As a retired Family Nurse Practitioner and home owner living within three miles of the US-Mexico Border in Cameron County, TX, I oppose RGV Wall and Gate Construction that will not only damage many of our sacred places and spaces but will also interfere with efforts at disease control (including equatorial diseases moving up our way).
Health care will suffer on both sides of the border 1) because unified efforts are necessary to control insect and water and food borne diseases and 2) because the closest available doctors and hospitals may be on the other side of The Wall.
At the very minimum, there must be no further preparation for any further construction before there are full public hearings on the issues involved, before full environmental impact studies are completed (no segmentation allowed to avoid the EIS requirement), or before The Wall is fully funded.
— Barbara Hill, San Benito, TX
We have corrected this post to reflect the correct email CBP address: commentsenv@cbp.dhs.gov We would appreciate it if you make sure you got it right.
The border wall is the worst way to solve the problems facing the US border patrol and should not even be considered.