South Texas counties and municipalities are throwing support behind a San Antonio state rep’s bill that would mandate an exhaustive environmental review of the Trump administration’s border wall.
So far, El Paso and Cameron counties and the city of Presidio have adopted resolutions supporting HB990, introduced three weeks ago by Democrat Rep. Roland Gutierrez.
“The people of Cameron County do not want their property divided or taken from them,” states the resolution from Cameron, adopted today by its commissioner’s court. “It is their heritage and their livelihood.”
What’s more, similar measures are on the calendar for Val Verde, Brewster and Terrell counties, said Colin Brown, a legislative aide for Gutierrez’s office. Officials from all three counties are scheduled to meet on the issue before the end of next week.
Construction of the border wall could result in severe flooding, argues Gutierrez, whose proposal would require Texas’ environmental regulators to study the wall and present a report to top state officials. Such a review, he points out, could bolster legal efforts to stop construction.
El Paso became the first county to support Gutierrez’s bill, adopting its resolution the same day President Trump arrived in the border community to hold a rally supporting his wall.
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This article appears in The Burger Issue 2019.
