Support HR 2076:
Border Security and Responsibility Act of 2009

Creating a Responsible Border Policy that Respects the Law
And Protects our Natural Resources

Saguaro cacti at Tinajas Altas, Arizona. Photo: Kevin Schafer, ILCP

Sierra Club is concerned that specific proposals to address the issue of immigration can have unintended consequences for the environment and human rights. 

The REAL ID Act of 2005 gave the Secretary of Homeland Security – an unelected official – the authority to waive any law in order to expedite construction of infrastructure along our shared international border with Mexico. This authority  has been used multiple times, with the result of waiving three dozen landmark federal laws designed to protect environmental, archaeological, historical and cultural values.

To date, infrastructure has been built across more than 600 miles of our shared international border with Mexico. Walls have separated families, caused damaging floods and erosion, and fractured habitat and migration corridors vital to wildlife that has been pushed to the brink of extinction.  

Arizona Congressman Raúl Grijalva has introduced the Border Security and Responsibility Act of 2009 to protect communities, national parks and other federal lands, and significant wildlife habitat from unintended consequences of our nation’s border policy.  The goals of the bill are to:

• Provide for flexibility rather than a one-size-fits-all approach to border security.  In addition to calling for a strategy that takes into consideration the effectiveness of various security measures, the bill would review associated costs to promote fiscal responsibility and to minimize impacts to cultural and natural resource investments.

• Allow land managers, local officials, and local communities to have a say in border security decisions, requiring full public notice and participation.

• Ensure full compliance with laws intended to protect air, water, wildlife, culture, and public health and safety. 

• Develop initiatives to help mitigate damage to communities and natural resources, including the network of congressionally protected federal public lands along the border. 

Support the protection of the Borderlands NOW!

Email or call your Washington DC Representatives today and ask them to co-sponsor HR 2076, The Border Security and Responsibility Act of 2009:
email-
http://action.sierraclub.org/borderwall
call-
http://action.sierraclub.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=105461.0

You can also write a letter to the editor of your local paper or favorite news outlet:
* Sample letter to the editor supporting HR 2076:
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/369702/lte-one-pager-HR2076.doc

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