Border wall with Mexico: Animal welfare organizations sue US government
Three animal welfare organizations have sued the US government over the construction of the border wall with Mexico. The wall poses a threat to endangered wildlife such as jaguars and wolves, according to the lawsuit filed on Tuesday in a US federal court in Washington.
Three animal welfare organizations have sued the US government over the construction of the border wall with Mexico. The wall poses a threat to endangered wildlife such as jaguars and wolves, according to the lawsuit filed on Tuesday in a US federal court in Washington.
The USA has a long and complicated relationship with migrants as a country. John F. Kennedy once called the United States a nation of immigrants. America has more immigrants than any other nation in the world. More than 40 million people living in the US were born in another country. The immigrant population is also highly diverse, with almost every country in the world represented among US immigrants. However, the history of the United States also includes the displacement and massacre of millions of indigenous peoples and the deeply troubling enslavement of generations of Africans.
Border wall threatens habitat of endangered species
The wall is set to be constructed partly within protected areas and therefore poses a threat to endangered species and their habitat, argue the organizations Defenders of Wildlife, Center for Biological Diversity, and Animal Legal Defense Fund.
The latest construction proposal would block corridors used by animals to cross the border. It would also hinder efforts to permanently reintroduce endangered species such as the Mexican gray wolf and the jaguar, said wildlife advocate Jason Rylander of Defenders of Wildlife.
Jaguar population in the US acutely threatened
The planned border wall by President Donald Trump with Mexico will destroy the endangered jaguar population in the United States by cutting off a vital wildlife corridor in Arizona, the three animal welfare organizations state in the lawsuit. The protection of habitat is crucial for the survival of these species.
The construction of a wall along the 3’200-kilometer border with Mexico is one of US President Donald Trump's flagship projects, as he has made the fight against illegal immigration one of his primary goals. The plan is highly controversial. Because Congress refused to allocate funds for the wall's construction, Trump declared a national emergency a year ago in order to obtain the money from existing budget lines.
