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For Immediate Release
"A Nation of Laws, Not Men"?
Bush Administration Suspends Laws Along U.S./Mexico Border for Unnecessary and Destructive Border Wall
WASHINGTON - Today, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced that he is imposing a blanket waiver of environmental and land management laws along 470 miles of the U.S./Mexico border. Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the constitutionality of this controversial waiver, tucked away in the “Real ID Act,” as a flagrant violation of the separation of powers principle that frames the U.S. Constitution.
Below is a statement from Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife.
“Thanks to this action by the Bush administration, the border is in a sense more lawless now than when Americans first started moving west.
“Laws ensuring clean water for us and our children—dismissed. Laws protecting wildlife, land, rivers, streams and places of cultural significance—just a bother to the Bush administration. Laws giving American citizens a voice in the process—gone. Clearly this is out of control.
“It is this kind of absolute disregard for the well-being and concerns of border communities and the welfare of our wildlife and untamed borderlands that has forced Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club to take a stand and say ‘No more!’
“Just a few weeks ago we filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to fight the unconstitutional authority the Bush administration has seized to waive any and all laws it views as inconvenient in its rush to build an unpopular, ineffective border wall. Today’s egregious abuse of power is more proof that this cannot be allowed to continue.”
Learn more about what Defenders is doing for species along the border.
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Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With more than 1 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit www.defenders.org.
