President Trump’s call for construction of new walls along the U.S.-Mexico border threatens the rich biological diversity of our southern border. The 2,000-mile border region is home to threatened and endangered species and magnificent landscapes. Building new border walls jeopardizes a legacy of binational conservation work and investment by both countries, private organizations and citizens living across this enchanted region. The proposed wall would divide communities, erode our civil and private property rights, waste public resources, sever habitat for imperiled species, and reverse decades of conservation success in the borderlands. There is no difference between walls or so-called steel slat fences in the cost and destruction to communities and the environment—any structure that is designed to stop pedestrians will inevitably bar wildlife and sever its habitat.
Border security decisions made today will have a lasting impact on the wildlife that call the region home, on residents on both sides of the border, and on all Americans who value the rich natural heritage of our border lands. Defenders of Wildlife calls for the end of the government shutdown that is hurting federal employees, damaging our national parks and national wildlife refuges, and depriving Americans of crucial government services. Our government should not be held hostage for a wasteful and destructive wall. Americans should speak out to oppose the wall and to demand an end to the government shutdown.
Available for comment and on-camera interviews will be Paul Sanchez-Navarro, the Texas Senior representative for Defenders of Wildlife and Lorri Burnett, a filed organizer for Defenders. Paul is based in Austin but has worked on border and wildlife issues in both the U.S. and Mexico for decades.
What: Protest of President Trump’s visit to the border and his dangerous and unnecessary border wall
Who:
- Paul Sanchez-Navarro, Senior Representative Texas for Defenders of Wildlife, psanchez-navarro@defenders.org, 512-618-0531
- Lorri Burnett, Defenders of Wildlife organizer, ljburnett1@aol.com, 915-740-1003
- Juan Mancias, Carrizo-Comecrudo Tribe of Texas, (830) 391-7332
- Marianna Trevino-Wright, Executive Director National Butterfly Center, marianna@nationalbutterflycenter.org, 956-648-7117
When: Thursday January 10, 11 a.m. CT
Where: La Plaza Mall sidewalk across McAllen Miller Airport on Wichita Ave and 10th in front of JCPenney, 1413 Wichita Ave (Subject to change depending on security street closures) McAllen, TX 78503
For more information, please contact: Rebecca Bullis, 202-772-0295, rbullis@defenders.org or Paul Sanchez-Navarro, psanchez-navarro@defenders.org, 512-618-0531.
Defenders of Wildlife is celebrating 75 years of protecting all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With a nationwide network of nearly 2.2 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 defenders.org/newsroom and follow us on Twitter @Defenders.
