Upon learning that President Biden was planning on issuing a Day 1 Proclamation to freeze construction of Trump’s border wall, grassroots activists are cautiously celebrating across the 2,000 mile US Southern Border. The move will reportedly halt the project until further notice and potentially save many cities, towns, sacred indigenous lands, and natural ecosystems from the wall’s path of destruction. This is being felt strongly in the city of Laredo, TX, where the wall was slated for imminent construction.
Biden’s proclamation reportedly terminates the national emergency declaration for the Southern Border, directs private contractors to pause all construction within 7 days, and halts obligation of funds for wall construction.
This move is only possible after years of tireless work from hundreds of grassroots organizations across the southern border states from Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California who joined forces to stop Trump’s project on-the-ground and to change the narrative, to show them that the border is a safe, vibrant and culturally rich region of the United States, rejecting the racist caricature that Trump conjured for his followers.
Activists assert this is but a first step, and there is more work to be done. Trump’s wall has already been built or started in many places, causing great harm to communities and the environment. Those contracts must all be canceled. Confiscation of land must cease. Laws that were suspended must be restored. Sections of the wall that have ripped through sacred sites and ancestral land, causing destruction and threatening the existence of many species and the environment, must be taken down. Places that were harmed must be remediated and repaired.
BORDER VOICES AND KEY ALLIES SPEAK OUT
Tricia Cortez, executive director with the Rio Grande International Study Center, founding member of the No Border Wall Coalition (Laredo, TX)
“This is a huge win and a critical first step for our community, our river, our future. After two years of operating in crisis mode with this disastrous border wall project, we’re finally being listened to. We have fought a fierce battle to make sure that we, the people of this community, have a place at the table to determine our own future. We look forward to working with the Biden team to eventually cancel the contracts and bring the wall down.”
Carlos Flores, founding member of the No Border Wall Coalition, and attorney in the Constitutional case Zapata County et al v. Trump (Laredo, TX)
“The Laredo No Border Wall Coalition fought Trump and his border wall despite being told over and over that the fight was a lost cause and that the wall was “a done deal.” President Biden’s moratorium on construction is a key first step. But our community will not begin to heal from Trump’s political assault until all border contracts in Webb County and Zapata County and the rest of the border are rescinded and the REAL ID Act repealed.”
Juan Ruiz, activist with No Border Wall Coalition (Laredo, TX)
“This is a highly encouraging start to this new administration, but the work is not over. The contracts need to be cancelled for good; the taking of land needs to cease; many existing areas of wall need to be torn down; and places and communities that were harmed must be healed and restored as best they can.”
Robie and Alex Flores, No Border Wall activists (Eagle Pass, TX)
“Here in Eagle Pass, we’re rejoicing in this historic day as President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are sworn into office. It’s a hopeful day for us as fronterizos as we look forward to the changes that this means for our city and our fellow fronterizos. The real work of protecting the borderlands, and incorporating our voices into decisions shaping our future, is just beginning. We are looking to President Biden and his administration to reverse the false national emergency, halt construction of the border wall, reevaluate and cancel contracts that are not in place to protect, but to disrupt our well-being and infringe on our rights as American citizens.”
Hon’mana Seukteoma, Tohono O’odham Nation, southern AZ/northern Sonora
“The Biden administration has much reparation work to do for indigenous communities in the borderlands. O’odham land and sacred sites are forever changed because of the devastation border wall construction has brought. As an indigenous woman who has put her body and life on the line to stop border wall construction during the Trump administration, I say take this wall down, restore the land that has been desecrated and give sovereignty back to tribes in the borderlands.”
Waniya Locke, Lakota/Dakota, Anishinaabe and Ahtna Dene tribal member, Standing Rock nation, Nodapl Grassroots organizer, ally of the No Border Wall Laredo Coalition
“The Trump Administration pushed forward and opened up the Arctic refuge for fracking; made sure that the Dakota Access Pipeline was illegally constructed; brought back the Keystone XL pipeline and pushed forward the Border Wall. In doing so, he encroached on indigenous land in North America, We as indigenous people stand together against oppression. We are here. We say No More. We are protecting our future generations: from the Dakota Access Pipeline to No Border Wall – we are UNITING as Original Occupants of the land. #MniWiconi”
Margarita Araiza, executive director, Webb County Heritage Foundation, founding member of the No Border Wall Coalition (Laredo, TX)
“We are overjoyed to hear that President Joe Biden will call for a halt to the national emergency that authorized building the travesty of the border wall. This action clearly shows a federal administration that is finally making the history, heritage, and rights of Hispanic and Native American voters a priority. The looming threat hanging over our most cherished ranchlands, ecosystems, sacred places, and landmarks will be removed. This is a great day for border residents on both sides of the Rio Grande.”
Raquel de Anda, activist with No Border Wall Coalition (Laredo, TX)
“Make no mistake, this is a victory for people power. President Biden might have signed the order, but this was the culmination of years of tireless activism by people who live on the border, in defense of their community, their homes, their land, their water, and their history.”
Dr. Stan Rodriguez, Kumeyaay Nation (San Diego, CA)
“The report that President Biden will be rescinding the national emergency declaration at the border and halt continued construction of the border wall is great news for the Kumeyaay people. The actions of the prior administration negatively impacted not just the Kumeyaay nation but other indigenous groups whose traditional territory was impacted due to the construction of the border wall without regard for the impact on our historical, burial, and cultural sites.”
Gan Golan, No Border Wall Coalition (Laredo, TX)
“Trump’s wall would have been the largest monument to White Supremacy in the world. This proclamation is not just a defeat for the wall, but a defeat for Trump’s entire worldview, based on fear, domination, and cruelty. We saw his brand of anti-American violence in DC, and the wall would have been an enduring symbol that inspired more of that. Stopping it is an important first step. Now we must work to tear the rest down. ”
Beto Martinez, musician with Grupo Fantasma, co-organizer of the Rock the Border, Stop the Wall 2,000-mile concert (Laredo and Austin, TX)
“Biden’s pause on further construction of the disastrous border wall is the absolute right thing to do. We must maintain that he permanently and effectively halt any further construction and work to mitigate and reverse the damage already done by the previous administration.”
Dr. Ricardo Solis, president, Laredo College, which lies in the path of the wall (Laredo, TX)
“The ceasing of border wall construction is quite significant and comes as a relief to Laredo College and our community. As the only college on the U.S.-Mexico border, this will ensure that our historic Ft. MacIntosh campus will be preserved for future generations and that we will be able to continue to deliver on our mission of transforming the lives of our students and community. As a result of the efforts of so many, but especially the Rio Grande Landowners Coalition and the RGISC, the community solidified and united to pursue a common goal in opposition to the construction of the border wall, the lasting positive effects of which will be felt on our environment, our educational operations, community activities and the historical tourism destination that is the Rio Grande, and particularly our campus, for years to come.”
Melissa R. Cigarroa, founding member of No Border Wall Laredo Coalition and plaintiff in Zapata et al v. Trump (Laredo, TX)
“The wall represented the division in the country fostered by a racist agenda. Border communities became Constitution-free zones, antithetical to American values. This fight was always about protecting our families and leaving behind a community where they could raise their families, free from the insidious denigration represented by the wall.”
Bill Skeen, member of the Rio Grande Landowners Coalition representing landowners in the Laredo Sector (Webb and Zapata counties)
“It’s been a long road for the Rio Grande Landowners Coalition and its members, with so much concern, time and energy being displaced to protect property rights and the environment, so today we are both excited and grateful to be at this juncture. The border wall project stood to become one of the largest unreasonable land grabs by the government. We look forward to working with President Biden and the administration with a goal to establish a sensible border security plan that respects property rights, the environment, historic sites, and the needs of our border communities in Texas and the rest of the country.”
Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Poor, who run a Catholic orphanage in Laredo, TX that lies in the path of the wall (via attorney Alberto P. Cárdenas, Jr.)
“We are pleased to learn that the Biden Administration is reviewing questionable contracts to construct an unnecessary border wall in South Texas. These illegal contracts must be rescinded as they were awarded under a usurpation of Constitutional powers. Our Constitution is our supreme law. Congress has not authorized a single cent of funding for prioritized border fencing in the Laredo sector.”
Marianna Trevino Wright, executive director, National Butterfly Center (Mission TX)
“We are not celebrating yet. Without an executive order canceling ALL border wall contracts, we know that the lives and property of borderlands residents will continue to be used as a bargaining chip in Washington. We must not relent in demanding an end to all construction.”
Juan Ortiz, ChuCosecha El Paso, Tornillo Occupation Coalition, Sacred Liberation (El Paso, TX)
“We the fronterizxs on the borderlands of El Paso y Ciudad Juárez, from the ancestral home to Mogollon and Puebloan descended people want to remind our communities and the nation that Democrats have also built Walls, Democrats have also deported immigrants, families, children and asylum seeking refugees. We must continue to hold leadership accountable regardless of who is in power. We are El Paso (The Pass) and we welcome immigrants here.”
Juan Livas, Laredo Immigrant Alliance (LIA), founding member of the No Border Wall Coalition (Laredo, TX)
“LIA is pleased to see the Biden administration take the first step in moving past this racist and hateful idea of a border wall along our border communities which for years have been neglected of their true needs such as health care and a better living wage. We will continue to urge the Biden administration to pass legislation that will restore humanity and undo the cruel policies of the previous administration. Moreover, we hope the cancellation of the border wall is the first step in making the United States a nation where ‘we the people’ includes all of us, no matter our race, birthplace, age, religion, sexual orientation, or gender.”
Sister Rosemary Welsh, Mercy Ministries, No Border Wall Coalition, Laredo, TX).
“We as Sisters of Mercy were relieved to hear that President Biden on the first day of his presidency has signed a proclamation that will not allow the construction of the Wall to go forward. We are one city, Laredo and Nuevo Laredo, that is separated by the Rio Grande and feel the wall would be an insult to our shared values, culture, and traditions. There is no border emergency. There are other ways to secure the border and our communities have other real needs that require financial resources, e.g. education, health care, housing, and infrastructure.”
Tannya Benavides, activist with No Border Wall Coalition (Laredo, TX)
“This is a huge victory for Laredo, and the border communities from Brownsville, TX all the way to San Diego, CA. Biden is already proving he can be a champion for South Texas and the border by taking the first step in stopping this destructive and divisive project. As we move forward together, it is crucial that communities who live on the frontlines of the damage and destruction that Trump brought on continue to be considered. We look forward to working with the Biden administration to further define and execute these plans to build back better.”
#NotAnotherFoot Partner Organizations: RAICES, Mijente, Presente.org, No Border Wall Coalition, Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, Rio Grande International Study Center, RGV Equal Voice, River Pierce Foundation, Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe (TX), Kumeyaay Nation (CA), Tohono O’Odham Nation (AZ), Veterans For Peace, Texas Civil Rights Project, National Butterfly Center, La Unión del Pueblo Entero (LUPE), Unified U.S. Deported Veterans Resource Center, Fronteristxs, Via International, Friends of Friendship Park, La Iglesia Fronteriza, Laredo Immigrant Alliance.
Kudos to the Grass Roots activists that have advocated tirelessly against this monstrosity. This effectively “Defunds the Wall,” as the affected agencies assess how to proceed in the coming weeks. Candidate Biden said he would do this on his first day and he has, in fact, made good on that and other promises. This action will meet serious opposition and pushback from those that were led to believe that this 2000 mile wall would solve our immigration problems. The invaders at the Capitol by scaling the wall protecting Congress illustrated in no uncertain ways that walls can and will be scaled as they overran and ransacked our Congress and sent the members scurrying for their safety. Anybody that believes walls keep people out need only to see how walls are barriers that will be scaled. Defunding the Wall is a message that the immigration problem is much bigger than a wall of destruction for the communities and tribal lands along the way. Thank you President Biden for your Executive action!!!!
Tricia, Sister Rosemary, Margarita ,Alberto, et.al….. Thank you for all your hard work and for speaking up for “los fronterizos”. I praise all of you. As Martin Luther King said ( and I paraphrase), all that it takes for evil to succeed is for good people to say nothing. Hopefully, the malevolence has diminished. Si se puede!