Conservation groups took the their fight over Trump’s border wall to the Supreme Court on Thursday, arguing that the administration’s use of an immigration law to waive environmental protections is unconstitutional.
The groups argue that the Department of Homeland Security’s waiving of endangered species and environmental protections to construct the proposed border wall violates several sections of the U.S. Constitution.
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“These waivers are a blank check for environmental destruction in the borderlands,” said Brian Segee, senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups on the Supreme Court petition. “Trump’s abuse of power and dangerous fixation with the border wall have to be reined in before it causes even more devastation.”
The group’s constitutional claims were rejected by a lower district court in a previous lawsuit aimed at blocking the border wall over its environmental impact.
The district court did not agree that the Department of Homeland Security’s environmental waivers violated the law or Constitution.
The Center for Biological Diversity was one of the first to sue Trump over the border wall in 2017. It also holds the record for most lawsuits opposing the administration’s environmental agenda.
The group has filed 84 lawsuits against Trump, according to its litigation tracker.
“The Center for Biological Diversity is resisting Trump in every way possible — especially in the courts,” its website says.
“From the moment he took office, our lawyers have been working feverishly to oppose every attempt he’s made to worsen climate change, kill wildlife, endanger public health and destroy public lands,” it adds.
Defenders of Wildlife and the Animal Legal Defense Fund were also on the Supreme Court petition.
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