A federal judge has allowed a lawsuit to continue that alleges the Biden administration’s move to stop Trump-era border wall projects and immigration policies has had a negative impact on the environment.
U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia Trevor McFadden ruled on Aug. 11 that a lawsuit brought by the immigration restrictionist group, Center for Immigration Studies, could proceed on nine of the 11 claims of harm it filed against the departments of Homeland Security, Justice, and State. The suit was filed on behalf of the Massachusetts Coalition for Immigration Reform.
“The Coalition contends that three federal agencies have not complied with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires agencies to perform environmental impact analysis before taking certain actions,” McFadden, a 2017 appointee of President Donald Trump, wrote in his ruling. “According to the Coalition, the agencies’ disregard of NEPA caused environmental harm. The agencies move to dismiss all claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim. At this initial stage, the Court finds that it has jurisdiction.”
The lawsuit states that Biden’s administration failed to consider the impacts before taking action to walk back policies that affect the southern border.
“Resolving this question is long overdue,” CIS Director of Litigation Julie Axelrod told the Associated Press. “The massive impacts of immigration to the U.S, including degradation to the southern borderlands, our infrastructure, urban sprawl, pollution, global carbon emissions, and all other environmental considerations have become impossible to sweep under the rug any longer.”
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of six residents in Arizona, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania who claim a negative impact to their land and well-being as a result of the government’s actions since early 2021. One such plaintiff, Arizona cattle rancher Steven Smith, said illegal migration through his border-adjacent land has hurt his property and scared his family.
The Biden administration rescinded the remaining 350 miles of border wall projects, stopped forcing asylum-seekers to live in Mexico through court proceedings, and increased capacity for refugee programs, all without consideration of the impact those actions could have on the environment, the suit states.
