On Friday, ABC News reported that environmentalists are concerned that President Trump’s southern border wall may impact the habitat of various endangered species, including the Quino checkerspot butterfly, which, they say, won’t be able to fly over the proposed barrier.
According to ABC:
The Quino checkerspot butterfly was once common to the area but has seen its habitat eroded over the past century and is now listed as an endangered species, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. It’s one of the species listed in a lawsuit brought against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security by the center and other environmental groups over the wall.
Environmentalists claim the butterfly and a number of other species, including the Riverside fairy shrimp and the Pacific pocket mouse, could be in trouble if the Trump administration goes through with its plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
“It really can’t fly above around 15 feet above the ground,” said J.P. Rose, a staff attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity. “So if you put in a 30- to 40-foot wall along the border, the ability of it to migrate from northern Mexico to the U.S. is going to be impossible.”
The lawsuit challenges DHS’s ability to waive environmental laws requiring review before the barrier is built. The agency, however, says it is within its right to issue the waivers.
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The Trump administration has already issued three waivers since last August, ABC said, citing the Associated Press. Two waivers were issued to build barriers in parts of California and one in part of New Mexico.
Additionally, ABC said, the judge involved is no stranger to the president:
U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel was set to hear arguments Friday on the lawsuit. Curiel is no stranger to Trump, who blasted the judge in 2016 when he was presiding over one of the cases against Trump University. Then a candidate for president, Trump told The Wall Street Journal that Curiel, who was born in Indiana, has “an absolute conflict” of interest regarding the case because “of Mexican heritage.”
And this will come as no surprise — Rose also told KGTV that the lawsuit is about more than just the butterfly. It’s also about general opposition to Trump’s wall, intended to keep illegals out of the country.
“We are in solidarity with civil rights, immigrant rights, human rights groups who are against this wall,” he said.
Translation: A butterfly is now being used as a pawn in an effort to let more illegals into the country.
It also shows the priorities of those on the left. Given a choice between the safety and security of Americans or a butterfly, they choose the butterfly.
Related:
- Schumer withdraws wall funding offer he never made
- Surprise, surprise: Schumer’s claim of agreement to border wall in exchange for DACA support is a lie
- Shock Survey: Less Than 1 Out Of Every 4 Republicans In Congress Support A Border Wall
- Hungary Built a Wall — Cuts Illegal Aliens By 99 Percent
- Maxine Waters: If we impeach Trump, he can’t build the wall — Video
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