An Arizona congressman and a wildlife conservation group filed what they call the first federal lawsuit against President Trump's proposed Mexican border wall.
The Center for Biological Diversity and Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) filed the lawsuit, calling for the Department of Homeland Security to create a report on the environmental impact of the wall and the associated increase in border patrols. Grijalva is the ranking member of the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Wildlife conservationists argue the wall will put jaguars and ocelots, which are known to cross the border and are already endangered, in an even dicier situation.
What we need is a thorough analysis and some real science to determine just how much damage has been done ...
This lawsuit, unlike past non-federal lawsuits, considers the broader impact of the proposed policies beyond the wall itself, Center for Biological Diversity spokesman Randy Serraglio said.
Trump has long promised to build the wall and make Mexico pay for it. Mexico has repeatedly refused, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Congress would pay for the wall in a recent border tour.
The lawsuit also alleges a report on the environmental impact of the border wall is a decade overdue. Serraglio said the last environmental impact study regarding the border was done in 2001.
"Things are dramatically different now," Serraglio said.
The DHS said it does not comment on pending lawsuits.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
