SIERRA CLUB News:

SANTA FE — The Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter stands with State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard in opposing the Trump regime’s plan to seize seven acres of New Mexico lands for Border Patrol facilities.

“The Trump administration’s move, after New Mexico was clear that NO state lands would be sold for border wall construction, is a violation of our laws and rights as a state. This is an assault on our precious ecology, waters, and diverse wildlife through the corrupt militarization of our border communities,” said Sierra Club Southern New Mexico Organizer Antoinette Reyes. 

On Friday the Santa Fe New Mexican reported that the federal government would file condemnation paperwork to take the land near the Santa Teresa border crossing for border wall construction, surveillance technology and roads. This proposed theft comes after the U.S. failed to purchase the land in a fair deal with the state. The area in question is in the New Mexico Bootheel in Luna County. 

Land Commissioner Richard said she would use any available means to resist the “thugs” in Trump’s regime, citing that this land was granted to New Mexico in 1898 to raise money for New Mexico schools. 

The Sierra Club opposes all despoilment of our lands and their resources. In addition to this latest outrage, the border wall represents a violation of human rights in the form of migrant deaths in the desert and ecological disasters in the form of water pathway and migratory wildlife disruptions. We urge our elected officials to join Garcia Richard in opposing the Trump regime and its attempt to steal land for its fascist agenda.