The wall built during former President Donald Trump’s term on the border with Mexico caused damage to tribal lands and also had a negative environmental impact, the independent US watchdog concluded this Thursday.
The Government Oversight Office (GAO) noted in its report that between January 2017 and January 2021, the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense, along with the Customs Service, installed approximately 737 kilometers of barrier.
About 81% of the new structure replaced existing barriers, but chose to make them narrower to prevent people from passing through as much as possible.
Until then, half of the raised wall was intended to block the passage of people and the other half to prevent the passage of vehicles, with greater space between the posts.
The GAO noted that authorities sought to minimize bureaucratic obstacles, since 62% of the barrier was on federally administered lands, causing damage to cultural enclaves and water resources and also harming endangered species.
Members of the Tohono O’odham tribe explained, for example, that part of Monument Hill was damaged, a site that other tribes and the Hia-C’ed O’odham, ancestors of the Tohono O’odham, traditionally used for religious ceremonies. .
The barrier also caused changes in the natural flow of water and, according to the study, there is a correlation between the reduction in water pressure and the use of water for the construction of the facility.
The new, narrower barrier also affected the region’s fauna: although some parts had openings at the base for the passage of small animals, they were not wide enough for larger animals, such as wolves, to pass through.
Clearing the land for the construction of the barrier damaged native vegetation and, in some mountainous areas, caused erosion.
The GAO noted that although the Department of Homeland Security warned about the effect this could have, federal officials and other parties involved said they had not received enough information about it.
The watchdog agency also noted that federal environmental and other laws were not followed to move the project forward more quickly.
When Joe Biden’s administration halted wall construction upon coming to power in January 2021, the cancellation of contracts exacerbated some of the problems because the projects were left abandoned as they were.
The GAO called for the implementation of a strategy to mitigate the cultural harm caused and identify the cost and time required to implement it.
He also called for an assessment of the danger that incomplete construction poses to local communities.
Source: TSF
