On Feb. 14 it was reported that a federal judge had dismissed the North American Butterfly Association’s lawsuit against the Trump administration, also also nullifying a temporary restraining order filed earlier this week. However, elected officials have been paying attention, and while the House and Senate negotiated their border security funding package, one Democrat decided to add some important language about the issue to the bill.
According to the Texas Tribune, Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar says he was able to add language to the bill that would prohibit “fencing at five major landmarks in the Rio Grande Valley.” Those landmarks are the 100-acre National Butterfly Center preserve; the Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park and birdwatching site; the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge (already technically protected in last year’s budget); the La Lomita historic Catholic chapel, which had been fighting the border wall and losing; and a section of land that has been earmarked to become the SpaceX transportation company’s “commercial spaceport.”
The excitement over this revelation was short-lived, as the Trump administration is now arguing that, with Trump’s national emergency declaration, all bets are off, telling the Wall Street Journal that the “restrictions only to apply to the $1.375 billion appropriated in that spending package, and that the other $6.625 billion could be used without those restrictions.” The Trump administration has been as opaque about where it actually plans to build this wall, but places like the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge may offer up fewer legal hurdles than would private property.
H/T to nickrud for the good news!
H/T to me for the bad news. :(