The refuge is home to endangered species and protected habitat.

By Ariana Garcia,Assistant News EditorAug 27, 2025

https://www.chron.com/life/wildlife/article/trump-border-wall-texas-21018256.php

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The Trump administration has cleared the way for new border wall construction in South Texas, waiving more than 30 environmental and public health laws to expedite the project, which will cut through parts of a federally protected wildlife refuge. 

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The move allows for wall segments across 13 tracts of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, affecting wildlife corridors, endangered species habitat, and nearby communities. 

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“There’s a special cruelty in walling off national wildlife refuges that were created for conservation,” said Laiken Jordahl, southwest conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity. “These lands exist to protect endangered species and connect fragmented habitat, not to be bulldozed for Trump’s wall.” 

The Center for Biological Diversity warns that the new construction threatens wildlife, public lands, and species already at risk. 

The Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1979 to protect biodiversity. It follows the final 75 miles of the Rio Grande, linking isolated tracts of land managed by private landowners, nonprofits, the State of Texas, and two other national wildlife refuges—Laguna Atascosa and Santa Ana. 

Conservationists say the wall will threaten endangered species like the ocelot and aplomado falcon, as well as hundreds of migratory birds such as green jays, Altamira orioles, and plain chachalacas. Endangered plants—Zapata bladderpod, Walker’s manioc, and Texas ayenia—also face new threats. 

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The Secure Fence Act of 2006 grants the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) authority to waive federal laws to expedite border wall construction. The most recent waiver cites over 1.5 million undocumented immigrant apprehensions in Customs and Border Protection’s Rio Grande Valley sector between fiscal years 2021 and 2025, though it does not provide specific data for apprehensions within the wildlife refuge areas. 

“Since the President took office, DHS has delivered the most secure border in history,” the order states. “More can and must be done.” 

Using federal authority to bypass normal regulations, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem approved the installation of “additional barriers and roads” in the Rio Grande Valley Sector to prevent unlawful entries. 

The waiver removes requirements to comply with dozens of laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and National Historic Preservation Act. 

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According to Customs and Border Protection, the number of migrant encounters in the Rio Grande Valley sector fell to under 1,000 per month in June and July of this year—a significant drop from previous years. However, CBPS does not specify how many apprehensions occurred within the wildlife refuge. 

The Trump administration has authorized 100 miles of border wall construction currently underway along the 1,950-mile U.S.-Mexico border. This latest segment includes five miles of new wall in Starr and Hidalgo counties in Texas.