Most claims not dismissed, including border wall claim
A District of Columbia federal judge did not dismiss a lawsuit that relies on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to challenge Biden administration actions on immigration, marking an unmatched if still early success for the use of environmental law against illegal immigration.
District Court Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, ruled on Aug. 11 (pdf) that his court has jurisdiction over the case.
The lawsuit pits immigration reformers, environmentalists, and ranchers against the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and the Department of State.
“I think people would support the efforts to stop ignoring the massive environmental consequences of immigration,” said Julie Axelrod, director of litigation for the Center for Immigration Studies, in an Aug. 30 interview with The Epoch Times.
Axelrod filed an amended complaint (pdf) on behalf of the plaintiffs. A previous NEPA lawsuit from the Center was rejected for lack of standing, first by the Southern District of California and then by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
One plaintiff in the D.C. lawsuit, cattle rancher Chance Smith, lives near Douglas, Arizona, in an area his family has called home since the 19th century.
The shift from Trump to Biden “caused the number of crossers he personally sees crossing the ranch to increase to eight or nine times [what] it was before,” the complaint states.
Smith says those border jumpers degrade the land, leaving behind trash or even buried drugs and guns.
“He [Smith] needs to bring a pistol at all times, even though he would prefer not to. However, he knows he is under threat of trouble from cartel members at all times when the border is not under control by law enforcement,” the suit continues.
NEPA and the Border
Signed into law by former President Richard Nixon, NEPA was a milestone in protecting nature from damage by the federal government.
“If NEPA should apply to any government policy, it should be to federal policies that induce population growth,” the Center’s complaint argues.
