In the borderlands of the United States and Mexico, a diversity of ecosystems and wildlife converge. This unique and ecologically signifcant area spans desert, mountain and subtropical habitats, supporting thousands of species of plants and animals, dozens of human communities and many sites of cultural and historic importance. Sadly, the combined impacts of undocumented immigration and border security activities are disrupting and degrading wildlife habitat and affecting the health of these sensitive lands.
Beginning in the early 1990s, the U.S. Border Patrol dramatically increased its enforcement eforts in urban areas. Consequently, undocumented immigration, drug trafcking and other illegal activities shifted into the remote and sensitive lands of one of the nation’s most ecologically signifcant regions. In response, the Border Patrol began extending wall construction, road building, lighting projects, of-road vehicle and low-fying helicopter patrols to areas that had been undisturbed refuges for wildlife. Armed with a controversial legal waiver under the Real ID Act of 2005, the Department of Homeland Security can construct new walls and infrastructure in the borderlands at a breakneck pace, without the guidance of environmental laws, scientifc study or public input.
