Texas State District Judge Keno Vasquez on Tuesday issued a temporary restraining order against We Build the Wall, which raised $25 million after promising to build its own private barrier. Vasquez set a December 17 hearing date for We Build the Wall and its founder, Brian Kolfage, to appear in court in the South Texas city of Edinburg, according to the Associated Press.
This all came about after We Build the Wall announced on their Facebook page that it was starting construction of a wall on private property along the Rio Grande in Mission, Texas. They even provided pictures and a video with a construction foreman describing plans to install posts a short distance from the riverbank, according to the Houston Chronicle.
On December 3, the National Butterfly Center filed for a Temporary Restraining Order against Brian Kolfage, President of the “We Build the Wall” campaign, CBS 4 Valley Central.
The National Butterfly Center contends We Build the Wall has demonstrated irreparable harm to the National Butterfly Center since the campaign has “committed willfully, maliciously and with an actual and subjective intent to commit great harm to the plaintiff (National Butterfly Center.”)
The butterfly center and opponents of the wall say the construction on private land could make erosion worse and push floodwaters onto homeowners’ property during a storm.
The private construction of a wall has also drawn the attention of the International Boundary and Water Commission. The commission was set up between the U.S. and Mexico under treaty obligations where both sides agree to cooperate on any changes to the riverbank that could affect the other side.
The commission has asked We Build the Wall and its construction partner Fisher Industries for some information. Kolfage has said his organization won’t begin construction until it gets the commission’s approval, even though Fisher Industries started bulldozing the land in question on November 15.
The butterfly center and the advocacy group EarthJustice issued a statement Wednesday calling We Build the Wall’s plans “illegal.”
“The incredible biodiversity found here, supported and enhanced by 17 years of labor and millions of dollars of investment, is integral to the health of a fragile, but vibrant ecosystem and warrants protection against this unlawful incursion,” said Dr. Jeffrey Glassberg, president of the North American Butterfly Association, in a statement.
