Bringing the Border to the Bay - San Francisco film screenings in September

Three Bay area events will highlight the human and environmental costs of border militarization.

Free film screenings will occur on September 19^th, 21^st, and 22^nd sponsored by the Sierra Club Borderlands Team and the Marin Task Force on the Americas.  Afterwards there will be a Q&A with people who live along the U.S.-Mexico border, and who know the situation first-hand.

Our immigration system is broken.  Thousands languish in immigrant detention centers, including private prisons that warehouse detainees to cut costs and increase profits.  Border enforcement inflicts tremendous harm upon border communities and the environment, as border walls tear through cities and wildlife refuges alike. 

It is important to understand the problem if we want to find solutions.

“Right now Congress is hammering out immigration legislation.  If they do it right, it could benefit millions of people.  But if Congress sticks to the “enforcement first” model, with more border walls and for-profit detention centers, they will squander the promise of immigration reform,” says Dan Millis of Sierra Club Borderlands.  “There should be a pathway to citizenship without hundreds of miles of new border walls or the waiving of environmental laws.”

Everyone is invited to come see these films on the impacts of current U.S. border policy on immigrants, border communities, human rights, and the environment:

Immigrants For Sale (2013, 33 min.) is a ground-breaking on-line documentary series that goes inside the private immigrant-detention industry through the lens of those most impacted and the players behind the trade, examining the multi-billion dollar profits that fuel it all.

Wild Versus Wall (2010, 20 min.) covers the ecological effects of the 651 miles of border wall already constructed along the U.S. boundary with Mexico. The Department of Homeland Security waived 37 federal environmental-protection and other laws along our borderlands, resulting in a brutalized landscape and a compromised legal system.

The Fence (2010, 30 min.) award-winning filmmaker Rory Kennedy’s HBO documentary includes candid interviews with Border Patrol agents, ranchers, environmentalists, and voices from both sides of the border-security debate. Kennedy uses humor to highlight contradictions and politically driven misinformation, as well as the ineffectiveness and costliness of the controversial border barrier.

“It is critical that people in the Bay area see for themselves the impacts of our current immigration policies, so that they can push members of Congress to correct the situation instead of making it worse,” says Millis.

Times and locations:

Thursday, September 19, 6:30 pm, Eric Quezada Center for Culture and Politics, 518 Valencia Street, San Francisco.  Co-sponsored by the Eric Quezada Center and the Bay Area Latin America Solidarity Coalition.

Saturday, September 21, 6:30 pm, First United Methodist Church, 9 Ross Valley Drive at Fourth Street, San Rafael.  Co-sponsored by the Marin Peace and Justice Coalition.

Sunday, September 22, 4:30 pm, Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar Street (at Bonita), Connie Barber Room, second floor (sorry, no wheelchair access).  Co-sponsored by the Social Justice Committee of the Berkeley Fellowship.

April 25 "Fences and Floods: New Border Walls in the Rio Grande" at the University of Texas Pan American

Scott Nicol, Sierra Club Borderlands Team chair and LRGV Sierra Club Conservation co-chair, will be speaking at the University of Texas Pan American on April 25 about the flood risks and environmental damage that will come with new border walls slated for the Rio Grande floodplain. Through Freedom of Infomation Act requests Scott has uncovered documents showing that Customs and Border Protection plans to condemn private lands and take parts of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge to build these walls. For years the US section of the International Boundary and Water Commission rejected these walls as posing too great a flood hazard to communities on both sides of the river, but a year ago they caved in to pressure from CBP and approved walls in the floodplain.

At 6pm on April 25 the Sierra Club will screen the 20 minute film Wild vs. Wall, followed by a discussion of the hazards posed by these new walls. The event will occur at the UT Pan American Health Auditorium (HSHW 1.404), and is free and open to the public. You can see a campus map here.

Sierra Club Borderlands event in Utah October 12

Sierra Club hosts a discussion of Borderlands Accountability
October 12, 2012
6:30 - 8:00 pm
Weber State University
Shepherd Union Building, room SU 312
Ogden, Utah

 

An extreme assault on America’s public lands and environmental laws recently passed in the U.S. House of Representatives.  The misnamed “National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act,” (HR 1505) will waives 16 environmental laws on federal land along the entire U.S. – Mexico border and the entire U.S. – Canada border.  The lawless zone would  extend 100 miles into the United States from the borders for any activity of the Border Patrol.  National Parks from Glacier to Olympic to Big Bend, along with wildlife refuges, wilderness areas, and national forests could see new walls and roads, towers and forward operating bases, with no concern for the environmental impact.

 

Utah Representative Rob Bishop, author of the bill, has a long history of attacking environmental laws and federal lands. 

 

The Sierra Club's Borderlands Team and the Utah Chapter will present a Borderlands Accountability event at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah to discuss the impacts that border enforcement measures such as border walls have already had, and the tremendous damage that HR 1505 could inflict.  Coincidentally, Ogden is in the heart of Representative Bishop's congressional district.

The Department of Homeland Security has not requested either the waivers or carte blanche on protected lands.  The “National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act” has nothing to do with security.  It is simply an assault on environmental laws and federal lands, using national security as a cover. 

For campus directions go here.

U.S. IBWC meeting to defend their approval of dangerous border walls in the Rio Grande floodplain

In response to mounting criticism, the U.S. section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) has agreed to host a public meeting to discuss their decision to approve the construction of border walls in the Rio Grande floodplain.

The meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 29, from 6:00-8:00pm in Rio Grande City at the Holiday Inn Express located at 5274 East Highway 83.

Rio Grande City, along with Roma and Los Ebanos, will see miles of border wall built in the floodplain adjacent to homes, farms, and businesses.  These new walls will also repeatedly slice through the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

Since 2007 both the U.S. and Mexican sections of the International Boundary and Water Commission have rejected the construction of walls in the Rio Grande floodplain due to concern that during a flood event they would act as dams.  In the United States water could be trapped in communities, unable to drain into the river.  Flood water could also be deflected into Mexico, worsening flooding there, and potentially pushing the river into a new channel, which would change the location of the international border.

IBWC demanded that walls built in other parts of south Texas either be placed north of the levees or inserted into them, so that they would not impact flooding.  Roma, Rio Grande City, and Los Ebanos are not protected by levees, so walls have not been built there.

In February of this year the U.S. section of IBWC caved in to years of pressure from Customs and Border Protection and reversed their rejection of these walls.  Mexico continues to reject these walls.  If the U.S. acts unilaterally it will be in violation of the treaty that established the border.

U.S. IBWC claims that a flood model commissioned by Customs and Border Protection in July 2011 shows that if the Rio Grande were to engulf border walls after a hurricane, debris lodged in the walls would only block 10-25% of the water.  That model contains no explanation of where this number came from.  By starting with the assumption that walls will not block water, the result of the computer model is essentially predetermined.

In Arizona Customs and Border Protection have constructed nearly identical border walls – 6-inch wide posts with 4-inch gaps between them – across a number of washes.  In places these walls have trapped debris to a depth of nearly six feet.  Walls then act as dams, diverting water into nearby homes and businesses or causing severe erosion.  U.S. IBWC should explain how it is that walls of the same design trap debris and act as dams in the real world, but allow water to pass harmlessly though in the computer model that they are relying upon.

These walls have the potential to do serious damage to communities and refuges near Roma, Rio Grande City, and Los Ebanos.  The Sierra Club Borderlands Team and No Border Wall urge RGV residents to attend this public meeting and ask the U.S. IBWC tough questions.  These decisions are being made in Washington DC for political reasons, but it is our homes, and possibly even our lives, that are at stake.

#####

For more information about these border walls, please read the recent Texas Observer piece:

http://www.texasobserver.org/oped/new-border-walls-designed-to-flood-texas-towns

The Fence and Wild v. Wall screening in McAllen, TX

The Fence and Wild vs. Wall

Border Wall Films Showing at Cine el Rey

Cine el Rey * 311 S. 17th Street, McAllen, TX

Tuesday, July 31^st, 7:00 pm

Join us on Tuesday, July 31^st for a free screening of 2 short documentaries that explore the issues and controversies surrounding the recently constructed U.S./México border wall.  This free screening is part of Cine el Rey’s Sustainability Film Series, and is sponsored by the Sierra Club.

Hundreds of border residents have had their land condemned, and the erection of border walls through Wildlife Refuges and Wilderness Areas has already done tremendous damage, especially since the Department of Homeland Security has been able to use the Real ID Act to waive all relevant environmental laws. 

In February the US half of the International Boundary Water Commission approved construction of new border walls in the flood plain at Roma, Rio Grande City, and Los Ebanos.  If they are built, these border walls will channel flood water into these communities, and also deflect flood water into Mexican homes and property on the other side of the Rio Grande. 

The event at Cine el Rey will feature two documentary films, with a short discussion to follow-

·         The Fence   Award-winning filmmaker Rory Kennedy’s HBO documentary features candid interviews with Border Patrol agents, ranchers, environmentalists and voices from both sides of the border security debate.  Kennedy uses humor to highlight contradictions and politically-driven misinformation, as well as the ineffectiveness and costliness of the controversial border barrier.

·         Wild vs. Wall   The Sierra Club film by Tucson filmmaker Steev Hise is an overview of the environmental effects of current border policies, including insightful interviews and impressive footage demonstrating the long-term ecological impacts of border walls.

 Admission is FREE

Borderlands event in Austin March 4

Please join with some of Austin's finest bands in supporting the Sierra Club's Borderlands Team on Sunday, March 4, from 4pm - 7pm, at the 29th Street Ballroom (next to Spiderhouse Cafe on the University of Texas campus). Along with live music from Designer Genes and BitterHeaRt Society they will screen the short Sierra Club documentary Wild vs. Wall, which shows the damage dome by border walls in Texas and along the entire U.S.-Mexico border. Admission is free; donations for the Borderlands Team are welcome.

Unchecked by environmental protections, the walls that began in California’s borderlands now extend over 600 miles, inflicting tremendous damage upon many sensitive ecosystems. In Texas the walls that slice through the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge have fragmented habitat that is critical for the survival of endangered ocelots. In Arizona the border walls that cross washes and streams in the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument have caused severe erosion and flooding. Border walls built in New Mexico’s Playas Valley block the movement of one of the last wild herds of bison, whose range straddles the U.S. – Mexico border. And wall construction in California's Otay Mountain Wilderness Area has involved dynamiting steep mountainsides, sending hundreds of thousands of tons of rock into the Tijuana River below.

The Sierra Club's Borderlands Team is working to prevent further walls and greater destruction along both borders. It is trying to head off legislation that would call for hundreds of miles of new border walls, or waive environmental and other laws along both the northern and southern borders. And the Team is pushing for the Department of Homeland Security to mitigate some portion of the damage that their actions have already inflicted.

Please come out to the 29th Street Ballroom on March 4, and show your support for local music and for our borderlands.

Directions: http://www.spiderhousecafe.com/contact/spider-house-cafe.html

Draft programmatic environmental impact statement released for the entire northern border - CBP has announced public meetings

Customs and Border Protection has prepared a draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for unspecified enforcement activities along the entire US - Canada border, from Maine to Washington. These could include new or expanded forward operating bases, fencing, roads, towers, and just about anything that they think of over the next decade or so. The PEIS is extremely vague on exactly what might be done and where. It can be viewed here:

http://www.northernborderpeis.com/about-the-peis.html

The public and interested organizations should offer comments, either online or at one of the scheduled public meetings along the northern border. Public meetings will be held from 7-9PM at the following locations:


October 4, 2011
Massena, NY VFW
101 W. Hatfield St.
Massena, NY 13662

October 6, 2011
St. Albans, VT
St. Albans Historical Museum
9 Church Street
St. Albans, VT 05478

October 5, 2011
Augusta, ME
The Senator Inn & Spa
284 Western Ave.
Augusta, ME 04330

October 4, 2011
Caribou, ME
Caribou Inn and Convention Center
19 Main Street
Caribou, ME 04736

October 11, 2011
Rochester, NY
Holiday Inn - Rochester
Airport 911 Brooks Avenue
Rochester, NY 15624

October 12, 2011
Erie, PA
Ambassador Banquet Center
7794 Peach Street
Erie, PA 16509

October 6, 2011
Detroit, MI
Holiday Inn Express
1020 Washington Boulevard
Detroit, MI 48226

October 17, 2011
Washington, DC
Crystal City Marriott at Reagan National Airport
1999 Jefferson Davis Highway
Arlington, VA 22201

October 3, 2011
Duluth, MN Holiday Inn
200 West First Street
Duluth, MN 55802

October 13, 2011
Naples, ID
The Great Northwestern Territories Event Center
336 County Road 8
Naples, ID 83847

October 5, 2011
Bottineau, ND
Twin Oaks Resort and Convention Center
10723 Lake Loop Road
Bottineau, ND 58318

October 11, 2011
Bellingham, WA
Hampton Inn
3958 Bennett Drive
Bellingham, WA

October 6, 2011
Havre, MT
The Town House Inn
627 1st Street West
Havre, MT 59501

Border Wall Film Festival in Austin August 18

Austin Border Film Festival
Violet Crown Cinema * 434 W 2nd Street, Austin, TX
Thursday, August 18th, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Join the Sierra Club's Borderlands Team Thursday, August 18th for a free screening of 3 short documentaries that explore the issues and controversies surrounding the recently constructed U.S./México border wall

-Featuring Three Documentary Films and a short discussion to follow-

• Fencing the Border and its Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s gives an inside perspective on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s concerns about the wall's possible effects on wildlife and protected refuges in south Texas – 7 minutes.

• Wild vs. Wall, Sierra Club’s produced by Tucson filmmaker Steev Hise, is an overview of the environmental effects of current border policies, including insightful interviews and impressive footage demonstrating the long-term ecological effects of border infrastructure – 20 minutes.

• The Fence, Award-winning filmmaker Rory Kennedy’s HBO documentary features candid interviews with Border Patrol agents, ranchers, environmentalists and voices from both sides of the border security debate. Kennedy uses humor to highlight contradictions and politically-driven misinformation, as well as the ineffectiveness and costliness of the controversial border barrier – 30 minutes.

Admission is FREE
Donations to the Sierra Club Borderlands Protection Campaign gladly accepted at the door.

This film festival is dedicated to the memory of long time borderista Mary Grisco

Presentations on the border wall's impacts in South Texas August 22 & 23

The rugged deserts and mountains of Arizona’s southern border can be a treacherous place. Josseline was fourteen years old when she and her little brother crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, hoping to reunite with their mother in California. Walking for days, Josseline got sick and fell behind her group and the coyote that led them.

Three weeks later, Dan Millis was among the humanitarian aid volunteers that stumbled across Josseline's lifeless body in a remote canyon along the border. Since then, Millis has come to know that the costs of fatally flawed U.S. border policies extend beyond the tragic deaths of border crossers like Josseline. Walls push crossers into more remote desert terrain. Border ecosystems and the federal laws that protect them have also been cast aside by costly, ineffective, environmentally destructive, and inhumane attempts to "secure the border."

The Lower Rio Grande Valley Sierra Club is proud to co-sponsor presentations by Dan Millis in Brownsville on Monday, August 22, and in San Juan on Tuesday, August 23 respectively. Millis will tell how he was ticketed, dragged to court, and convicted of "littering" after leaving drinking water for migrants along border desert trails shortly after he found Josseline. Now working for the Sierra Club in Tucson, Dan will also discuss the environmental impacts of border walls and other enforcement measures. He will share stories of trans-national friendship and offer tips on which border walls are easiest to climb. Most importantly, Millis will speak up for the people and places victimized by border walls and enforcement-only politics and invite you to join in the fight.

Please join us Monday, August 22 at Galeria 409 in Brownsville, TX and Tuesday, August 23 at St. John the Baptist Parish Hall in San Juan, TX. Both presentations begin at 7:00pm. Refreshments will be served.

Monday, August 22 at 7:00pm Galeria 409 in Brownsville, Texas
Directions to Galeria 409, 409 E. 13th St.: From Expressway 77/83 in Brownsville, exit International and go south. Turn right onto Washington. Turn left on E 12th. Turn left on Levee St. Turn left onto E 13th. Galeria 409 is on the left in the middle of the block between Levee and Elizabeth streets. Parking is available at meters on Levee and Elizabeth, and there's a big parking lot on Levee and E 12th.

Tuesday, August 23 at 7:00pm St John the Baptist Parish Hall in San Juan, Texas
Directions to St John the Baptist, 216 W. 1st St.: From Expressway 83, exit Raul Longoria/Nebraska exit in San Juan and turn south on Nebraska. Turn right on 1st St. You will see the tower on the right. The Parish Hall is just past the tower. Parking is on the west and north side of the church complex.

Write your member of Congress - Oppose HR 1505

An assault on America's public lands and environmental laws has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, bearing the ironic name "National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act" (HR 1505).

Over 30 federal protection laws would be waived in a zone that extends 100 miles into the United States from all land borders and coasts. Roughly two-thirds of the U.S. population lives in the area targeted by this waiver. Cities from San Francisco to Boston and national parks from Glacier to Everglades could be put at risk.

And if that weren't enough, HR 1505 prohibits the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture, which oversee our national parks, wilderness areas, and wildlife refuges, from taking any actions to preserve the natural integrity of the lands that they oversee if their actions or advice conflict with the desires of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).





HR 1505 is using national security as a cover to attack environmental laws and protected lands. DHS has not expressed a need for these harmful provisions. In fact, DHS testifies that public land managers are not getting in the way of their operations. Last October, the Government Accountability Office found that "most [Border Patrol] agents reported that land management laws have had no effect on Border Patrol's overall measure of border security."

Visit the Sierra Club page to send an email to your member of Congress, telling them to oppose HR 1505:

https://secure2.convio.net/sierra/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=6239

Sierra Club online action - write your Senator opposing more border walls‏

The Sierra Club has an online action that is now live. Click on the link, fill in your information, and send an email to your Senators telling them to reject any proposals to build more border walls.

o Border action alert update – Sierra Club live now! action.sierraclub.org/demintwall

Nearly 670 mills of fences and walls have already been constructed along our Southwestern International border, separating families, fracturing wildlife corridors, and scarring the region’s unique natural and cultural resources.

Now a number of politicians have called for yet another set of walls along the US / Mexico border, which would continue to come at great expense to local communities, ecosystems, and the American Taxpayer.

Please write your senators and say ‘NO’ to another set of border walls.

For more info. on the strong likelihood that the new Congress will push for more border walls, read the No Border Wall blog:

http://notexasborderwall.blogspot.com/2011/01/new-congress-will-try-to-build-more.html

Border Film Festival in Tucson Dec. 11

Border Film Festival
The Loft Cinema
Date: Saturday, December 11, 2010
Time: 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Address:
3233 E Speedway Blvd
Tucson, AZ 85716

If you'd like to attend this event you can RSVP online.

http://action.sierraclub.org/site/Calendar?id=148602&view=Detail

Much of the American public is unaware of the devastation caused by U.S.-Mexico border policy. The most destructive component is the newly constructed border wall. More than 600 miles of walls have been built from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, fragmenting endangered species habitat, causing erosion and flooding, and tearing apart fragile ecosystems.

The wall also has a human toll. The border wall reroutes migrants into the remote deserts of Arizona where dehydration and exposure are rampant. As a result, the number of border-crossing deaths has more than doubled since 1995.

Join us at this film festival to learn more and to find out what you can do to help.

Admission is FREE!!

Sponsored by Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, Coalition de Derechos Humanos, Defenders of Wildlife, No More Deaths, and Sky Island Alliance.

http://sierraclub.org/borderlands/

Wild Versus Wall: The environmental impact of our border policy

Monday, November 29 · 7:00pm - 8:30pm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

St. Andrew United Methodist Church
3350 White Bay Drive
Highlands Ranch, CO

a free screening of Sierra Club's documentary Wild Versus Wall in Highlands Ranch, CO!

Much of the American public is unaware of the devastation being caused by harmful U.S border and trade policies. The most symbolic and destructive infrastructure resulting from these bad policies is the newly-constructed U.S.-Mexico border wall. Over 600 miles of border wall have been built from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexi...co, fragmenting endangered species habitat, causing erosion and flooding, and tearing apart fragile ecosystems found within Wilderness Areas and Wildlife Refuges, National Monuments and National Forests, and other protected private and public lands.

This presentation begins with a screening of the Sierra Club border film, "Wild Versus Wall," which has been newly-updated for 2010. It shows the ecological effects of enforcement and infrastructure in the four states that share boundaries with Mexico. It also showcases the unique natural landscapes of our border southwest. The film demonstrates the ineffectiveness of this kind of enforcement-only approach to border security, and stresses the importance of addressing root causes such as unfair trade policies and quality of life issues.

Following the film, Dan Millis, Borderlands Campaign Organizer for Arizona’s Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club, will present a slideshow featuring more in-depth aspects of the areas that have been affected, different types of border wall, and its costs to taxpayers.

Born and raised in Arizona, Dan has worked on border issues there since 2005. He is also a volunteer with the border humanitarian aid group No More Deaths, and is the recipient of the 2010 Derechos Humanos Corazon de Justicia Award for environmental work.

To learn more about the Sierra Club Borderlands Campaign and take action, check out their website at: http://www.sierraclub.org/borderlands/

Sierra Club Borderlands Campaign: Continental Divide, a Photo Exhibit of the Border

November 2-5, 2010
Cabot Lodge, 2375 North State Street
Jackson, Mississippi
Located at State Street and Riverside Drive
Free!

Much of the American public is unaware of the devastation being caused by harmful U.S border and trade policies. The most symbolic and destructive infrastructure resulting from these bad policies is the newly-constructed U.S.-Mexico border wall. Over 600 miles of border wall have been built from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, fragmenting endangered species habitat, causing erosion and flooding, and tearing apart fragile ecosystems found within Wilderness Areas and Wildlife Refuges; National Monuments and National Forests; and other protected lands, both public and private.

Recently, the International League of Conservation Photographers sent a team of world-renowned photographers to the borderlands of the United States and Mexico to document the wildlife, ecology, and effect of the border wall on this landscape. This region is a shared conservation treasure of international importance that harbors some of the most biodiverse landscapes on the continent. Many species here are found nowhere else in the US, and nowhere else in Mexico and some are found nowhere else on Earth. The photographs taken are now on exhibit, touring the United States. A sample of photos in the exhibit can be viewed here.

The Borderlands Team of the Sierra Club is bringing this exhibit to Jackson, Mississippi. The team is comprised of Sierra Club staff and volunteers from across the nation. You can learn more about the team by visiting and joining the Activist Network or by visiting www.sierraclub.org/borderlands.

Dates exhibit is open for viewing:
Tue Nov 2 5:30pm - 8:30pm
Wed Nov 3 5:30pm - 8:30pm
Thu Nov 4 5:30pm - 8:30pm
Fri Nov 5* 9am - 9pm

* Join us for a screening of the Sierra Club produced film, Wild Versus Wall, at 5:15 pm on Friday, November 5th. The film details the ecological effects of enforcement and infrastructure in all four southern Border States. The film demonstrates the ineffectiveness of this kind of enforcement-only approach to border security, and stresses the importance of addressing root causes such as unfair trade policies. A five minute trailer for the film can be viewed here. Refreshments will be provided for the screening!

The Exhibit is being held in conjunction with the Unity Conference sponsored by MIRA and SCLC.

For more information about the Sierra Club's Borderlands Campaign, visit http://sierraclub.org/borderlands/

Sierra Club screening Wild vs. Wall in San Diego August 21

The Sierra Club’s Borderlands Team will be screening the film Wild vs. Wall in San Diego at the Joyce Beers Uptown Community Center on Saturday, August 21, beginning at 7:30pm. Wild vs. Wall is a 20 minute documentary about the environmental effects of the border wall.

Dan Millis, who works for the Sierra Club out of Tucson, will speak after the film and answer any questions. He has extensive knowledge of the southern Arizona borderlands and the environmental and human impacts of enforcement measures border-wide.

More than 600 miles of border walls and barriers have been constructed in all four southern border states. Using the power to waive laws granted by the Real ID Act, 36 federal laws, including the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act, have been brushed aside to speed up construction. Border walls have been built through National Monuments and Wildlife Refuges, state parklands, and Nature Conservancy and Audubon sanctuaries. Wall construction has involved the condemnation and bulldozing of thousands of acres, the fragmentation of crucial habitat for endangered species, the triggering of flooding, and large-scale erosion. Border walls have also led to the deaths of thousands of immigrants by funneling them into remote, and often deadly, terrain.

Wild vs. Wall
Joyce Beers Uptown Community Center
1220 Cleveland Avenue
Suite M-100
San Diego, CA 92103

For directions and information on parking, visit http://joycebeers.com/

For those unable to attend, Wild vs. Wall can be viewed on the Borderlands Team’s website, http://sierraclub.org/borderlands/ , where you can also tour the border using Google Earth, get more information about the border wall’s impacts, learn about the Real ID Act, and find out how you can help.

ARTE CONTRA EL MURO/ ART AGAINST THE WALL

ARTE CONTRA EL MURO/ ART AGAINST THE WALL

EXHIBITION TO OPEN IN BROWNSVILLE ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28
Hope Park, 12th and St. Charles, noon – 5 pm
Galeria 409, 409 E. 13th St.
Contact Mark Clark (956) 455-3599
Galeria409@yahoo.com
www.galeria409.com

Artists opposed to the construction of the Department of Homeland Security's new border wall will hang an exhibition of paintings and sculptures on the wall itself at noon on Sunday, February 28th at the once scenic Hope Park in historic downtown Brownsville, Texas. The exhibition is designed to draw attention to the waste of tax dollars used to produce this 18 foot tall, six hundred mile long barrier that cost an estimated 12 to 18 million dollars a mile. 34 federal, state and local laws and regulations were waived to facilitate construction of the iron fence that many Mexicans and south Texas residents now refer to as "El Berlin".

Construction of the rusting wall was recently completed through Hope Park, located at 12th and St. Charles Street, which was the site of the Homeland Security chief's press conference announcing the kickoff of the controversial project. The site was apparently selected as a backdrop for Chertoff's remarks because of its once picturesque view of the Rio Grande and the Gateway Bridge to Matamoros.

Numerous trees were removed for the right of way for the fence and historic marble plaques marking the start of the Chisolm Trail, the beginning point for many nineteenth century cattle drives, now butt up against the iron wall.

Organizers selected the date for the one day exhibition to coincide with Brownsville's annual Charro Days celebration during which Matamoros mayor Eric Silva and Brownsville's mayor Pat Ahumada came together on the bridge to exchange "abrazos", and pledges of brotherhood between the two cities.

Following the five p.m. closing of the one day outdoor show, the art work is slated to move to Galeria 409, a block away from the park at 409 East 13th Street, for a one month long run.

The Galeria 409’s laconic director, Mark Clark states he'll "do almost anything legal to oppose the border fence. It's going to block my view of the river". His 158 year old gallery building overlooks a bend in the river that will soon disappear behind this iron curtain.

Galeria 409’s hours are from twelve to five on Saturday and Sunday and by appointment during the week by calling (956) 455-3599.

Tell Senator Schumer that Border Walls are NOT Immigration Reform!

Senator Charles Schumer will be crafting Comprehensive Immigration Reform legislation over the August recess, and has announced that he will introduce it around Labor Day. While it should be good news that immigration reform may finally be addressed, it looks like Schumer plans to include more border walls in the bill. If walls are part of the bill that he introduces it will be extremely difficult to strip them out. We may even see a repeat of 2006, in which border walls were part of competing immigration reform bills in the House and Senate. Those reform efforts died, and their border wall provisions were turned into the Secure Fence Act.

In a June press release, Schumer listed 7 principles that will form the basis of Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Principles 1 & 2 are:

1. Illegal immigration is wrong, and a primary goal of comprehensive immigration reform must be to dramatically curtail future illegal immigration.

2. Operational control of our borders--through significant additional increases in infrastructure, technology, and border personnel--must be achieved within a year of enactment of legislation.

http://schumer.senate.gov/new_website/record.cfm?id=314990

Senator Schumer recently voted for Senator DeMint's amendment, which calls for hundreds of miles of border wall.

It is critical that we pressure Senator Schumer to keep border walls out of his immigration reform bill. A good start would be to flood his office with phone calls, faxes, and emails. Below is a sample letter that anyone can copy and send along, but it is important to remember that phone calls and personal letters will have more impact. The important thing is to stress that border walls must NOT be part of immigration reform.

There is a form on Schumer's website that you can use to write to him here:
http://schumer.senate.gov/new_website/contact.cfm
But again, phone calls and personalized letters will be the most effective.

Senator Charles Schumer

313 Hart Senate Building

Washington , DC 20510

202-224-6542

Dear Senator Schumer,

I was extremely disappointed by your vote for Senator DeMint’s amendment calling for more border walls, and I am worried that you plan to include border walls in Comprehensive Immigration Reform. While immigration reform is needed, border walls should not be part of it.

The walls that already scar the borderlands have not stopped desperate immigrants from entering the United States . Border Patrol spokespersons refer to them as “speed bumps,” and say that they only slow crossers by 5 minutes. The Congressional Research Service determined that border walls have “no discernible impact” on the number of undocumented immigrants who successfully cross our borders.

While they fail at their intended purpose, border walls have serious negative impacts, including:

· Pushing thousands of border crossers into the desert, where hundreds die each year. The GAO found that after walls were built near San Diego the number of annual deaths in the desert doubled, and in the past decade over 5,000 bodies have been recovered.

· Inflicting tremendous environmental damage, including the severing of wildlife migration corridors, the destruction of endangered species habitat, the sedimentation of rivers, and unprecedented harm to designated Wilderness Areas, National Monuments, Wildlife Refuges, and preserves owned by Audubon and the Nature Conservancy.

· Condemning the property of hundreds of landowners who live along the border. Farmers, ranchers, and homeowners, some of whose property has been passed down for generations, have been hauled into court and had their lands taken to make way for border walls.

· $3.1 billion has already been spent on border walls, and the DeMint amendment will cost another $2.7 billion. Our nation cannot afford to waste billions more on “speed bumps.”

Including more border walls in Comprehensive Immigration Reform would sacrifice more landowners, ecosystems, and the lives of hundreds of immigrants just to attract a few votes.

As Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said this past February, “you cannot build a fence from San Diego to Brownsville, Texas, and call that an immigration policy.”

Border walls have no place in immigration reform. Don’t sacrifice the border to pass the bill.

The Wall documentary screens in McAllen July 17 and San Antonio July 18

A new documentary about the border wall will screen in McAllen, Texas at the Cine el Rey theater on July 17, and in San Antonio at the Guadalupe Theater on July 18. With the recent Senate vote to build more walls, it is important to understand the history and human impacts of the border walls that have already been built. Below is the press release for the film. Spread the word!

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A controversial new film about the border fence is coming to South Texas. The Wall, a documentary about the construction of a fence along the US/Mexico border will play two dates in Texas, July 17th at McAllen's El Cine De Rey and July 18th at San Antonio's Guadalupe Theatre. The film, which takes place in Arizona, California, and Texas, took 3 years to complete.

Director Ricardo Martinez captures many perspectives impacted by the fence. The Wall follows several law enforcement officials, border town residents, and the Minutemen as they each faced the reality of having a 25 foot Wall being built in their backyard. Border residents like Gloria Garza of Granjeno watch as the fence is erected and new problems start to arrive.

Ricardo and his crew even managed to follow and track several undocumented immigrants in Mexico as they prepared to cross the border, and ultimately climb The Wall. Using never before seen surveillance footage and night vision cameras, a mysterious and sometimes dangerous world emerges.

On the other side of the spectrum, the film features many border town residents and local officials. Small towns like Arivaca, McAllen, Granjeno, and Brownsville all make appearances in the film. Capturing a moment in time, the film tracks the No Border Wall Coalition's grassroots efforts to organize Rio Grande Valley residents against the fence. Showing the power of community, watch as Valley residents protest and unite to change the fence plan.

The filming was not always sunny and nice. Ricardo's film crew often had to scale back equipment and camp out deep in the desert to catch traffickers, immigrants, Border Patrol, and vigilante groups on camera. Vigilante groups like the Minutemen make a particularly unsettling appearance in The Wall as Martinez captured a few of them making some 'controversial' statements about the US and Hispanics.

At one point, the film crew traveled to Altar, Mexico to interview immigrants preparing to cross the border illegally. Made up of 'huespedes' or safehouses, the town was essentially run by the Carteles in the area, which didn't reassure the film crew of their safety.

"Thinking back, that probably was against my better judgment, but I felt like it made a helluva story on camera," says Ricardo grinning. "The local priest and church basically told us as long as we stuck with him, we'd be fine. We did and in the end, it was actually kind of a nice town."

The film plays on Friday, July 17th at 8:00 PM at El Cine De Rey in McAllen and Saturday July 18th at 8:00pm at the Guadalupe Theatre in San Antonio. Tickets are $5. Q&A and reception follow. Screening Details and information can be found at thewalldocumentary.com or cineelrey.com.

For any questions regarding this press release, to review the film for your publication, or to contact the filmmaker email info@thewalldocumentary.com. To watch clips of the film visit thewalldocumentary.com, youtube.com/thewalldoc, vimeo.com/thewall, or friend our Facebook page!

Official Synopsis

In 2006, Congress passed The Secure Fence Act calling for the construction of over 700 miles of fence along the US/Mexico border. Fueled by the War on Drugs and the debate on Immigration Reform, politicians jumped at the chance to "secure our borders". They were not prepared for what followed.

Filmed over two years, The Wall, a feature documentary, chronicles the impact of constructing a border fence along the Southwest. From policy makers to citizens of border towns in Texas, Arizona, and California, the debate elevates as residents respond to having a fence built in their backyard.

Gloria Garza sat on her porch, in Granjeno, Texas. She was enjoying her stretch of land by the Rio Grande River, when a man from the Department of Homeland Security arrived with a piece of paper. He asked her to sign a letter granting permission to build a 25 foot wall on her property. She thought it was a joke.

In Nogales, Arizona, Sheriff Tony Estrada, completed his routine check of the border wall. Since the border fence had been built, violence and immigrant deaths are steadily rising. This is not a policy he could believe in, but few were listening.
Determined to stop immigrant crossing, the Minutemen had taken matters into their own hands. They patrolled the area intercepting immigrants and notifying border patrol. Armed with ammunition and an ideology, they openly advocated more fencing to help their objectives.

At the epicenter of this controversy, Wilfredo and Adan are undocumented immigrants with a lot at stake. Wilfredo is trying to get across the border and will have to pass several layers of fencing and security. Adan waits for his father who must make the same dangerous trip he himself took several years earlier. How will their lives be changed by The Wall?

Director, Ricardo Martinez brings The Wall to life; intertwining rare surveillance footage and controversial interviews. He and his crew often risked their own safety while filming.
At the forefront of the debate, the film includes commentary by The Texas Border Coalition, The Southwest Border Sheriff's Coalition, No Border Wall Coalition, the Minutemen, Border Patrol officers, congressional hearings, and more.

Friends of Friendship Park press conference in San Diego July 8

What: release of open letter to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano

When: Wednesday, July 8, 10 a.m.

Where: U.S. District Court, 940 Front Street, San Diego, CA

Who: Friends of Friendship Park; www.friendshippark.org

Contacts: John Fanestil (619-823-6223; john@ foundation4change.org); Jill Holslin (619-804-8030; jholslin01@gmail.com); Rosemary Johnston (619-384-6852; rjohnston@interfaithshelter.org); Enrique Morones (619-977-9467; enriquemorones@cox.net); Pedro Rios (619-370-5908; prios@afsc.org); Dan Watman (619-954-9710; dan.watman@ gmail.com)

California State Attorney General Edmund G. Brown, Jr., together with local, state and federal elected officials, has joined some 70 community-based organizations and over 130 community leaders in a joint letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, calling for the restoration of routine public access to Friendship Park, the historic location overlooking the Pacific Ocean where for generations people have gathered with friends and family at the U.S.-Mexico border fence.

Elected leaders signing on to the joint letter include Lt. Governor John Garamendi, Members of Congress Susan Davis and Bob Filner, State Senators Denise Ducheny and Christine Kehoe, State Assemblymembers Mary Salas and Lori Saldaña, and San Diego City Councilmembers Marti Emerald, Donna Frye, Todd Gloria, Ben Hueso and Tony Young.

The text of the joint letter will be released at a press conference on Wednesday, July 8 at 10 a.m. in front of the U.S. District Court, 940 Front Street, San Diego, CA 92101.

Speakers will include Kevin Keenan, Executive Director of the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties; Rudy Murillo, past Acting Director of the San Diego Immigration and Naturalization Service; Pedro Rios of the American Friends Service Committee; and Daniel Watman of the community-based organization Border Encuentro. Mr. Watman faces Federal trespassing charges in the U.S. District Court at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, after standing in front of a bull dozer and temporarily stopping the construction of the new wall that currently restricts all access to the U.S. side of Friendship Park.

The text of the letter will also be posted at 12 noon on Wednesday to the Friends of Friendship Park website: www.friendshippark.org.

Civic leaders endorsing the letter include former Ambassador to Mexico Jeffrey Davidow, former U.S. Congresswoman Lynn Schenk, and former State Senators Lucy Killea and Steve Peace. Also endorsing are Irwin Jacobs, Murray Galinson, Deborah Szekely, Christine Forrester, Marcy Krinsk and dozens more.

Wayne Cornelius (Distinguished Professor of Political Science Emeritus, UC San Diego), David Shirk (Director of the Trans-Border Institute, University of San Diego) and Richard Griswold del Castillo (Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies, San Diego State University) are just a few of the over 30 educators who signed the letter.

Religious leaders supporting the letter come from almost every tradition and include Bishop Mary Ann Swenson of the United Methodist Church, Rev. Dr. Arvid Straube of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego, Dr. Jamie Gates, Director of the Center for Justice and Reconciliation at Point Loma Nazarene University and Rev. Ann Seisen Saunders of National City’s Sweetwater Zen Center.

San Diego’s legal community is represented on the letter by Administrative Law Judge Deborah Smaller, California Western Law Professor William J. Aceves, and Eric Alan Isaacson of Coughlin Stoia Gellar Rudman & Robbins LLP, among many others.

Dozens of San Diego-based organizations are signatories to the letter, including human rights organizations like the National Lawyers Guild and the San Diego Human Relations Commission, religious organizations like Office for Social Ministry, Diocese of San Diego, and environmental organizations like the Environmental Health Coalition and WiLDCOAST.

Dozens more organizations from beyond San Diego have adopted the cause of Friendship Park. Just a few of these to endorse the letter are: Border Ambassadors (Del Rio, TX), Frontera de Cristo (Douglas, AZ/Agua Prieta, Sonora), Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights (San Francisco, CA), Justice and Witness Ministries, United Church of Christ (Washington, DC), Mexican Community Center of New York, CECOMEX (New York, NY), Sojourners (Washington, DC) and Western Lands Project (Seattle, WA).

“The entire border should not be reduced to a ‘no-man’s land,” said John Fanestil, Executive Director of the San Diego-based Foundation for Change and a leader in the Friends of Friendship Park coalition. “Friendship Park reminds us all that a brighter future lies ahead for the borderlands and border people.”

“We are encouraged by recent overtures from [“Border Czar”] Alan Bersin and [San Diego Border Patrol Chief] Mike Fisher,” said Enrique Morones, President of Border Angels and another leader in the Friends of Friendship Park coalition. “We are confident the Park will re-open soon.”

Friends of Friendship Park – www.friendshippark.org

Tell Congress to Support the Border Security and Responsibility Act

Last week, Representative Grijalva (D-Arizona) introduced the Border Security and Responsibility Act of 2009 (HR 2076). This legislation would restore the rule of law to the borderlands by repealing the Real ID waiver provision and help protect our communities, private property, and national parks and wildlife refuges from damaged caused by the border wall.

This week, dozens of concerned citizens from across the nation are traveling to Washington, D.C. on their own dime to walk through the halls of Congress and build support for Rep. Grijalva’s bill.

But you don’t have to be in DC to make a difference. Please take action today. Call your member of Congress and urge him or her to support the Border Security and Responsibility Act of 2009. The congressional switchboard is 202-225-3121, or find your representative’s contact information at www.house.gov.

With enough phone calls, we can elevate this critical issue for Congress and ensure that the damage caused by the border wall is no longer ignored.

Thanks for making a difference, and please pass on this alert and post links to it.

Suggested Talking Points for Phone Calls:

· Please cosponsor the Border Security and Responsibility Act of 2009, a bill recently introduced by Rep. Grijalva.

· The border wall has caused significant damage to communities, water quality, and wildlife habitat. I think that Congress needs to act to address these problems that the wall has created.

· I am concerned by the fact that three dozen laws were waived for border wall construction. Landmark laws like the Endangered Species Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act were put in place for a reason: to protect the public’s interest. These laws shouldn’t be ignored. An unelected official should not have the power to waive these laws.

· Land managers, local officials, and local communities have been shut out of the decision making process. This bill would allow them to have a say in border security decisions by requiring full public notice and participation.

· To address the damage that border walls have caused, there need to be robust mitigation efforts. This bill would develop initiatives to help mitigate negative impacts to communities and natural resources, including the network of congressionally protected federal lands along the border.

· Please cosponsor the Border Security and Responsibility Act of 2009 and help restore and protect the communities and natural areas of the borderlands.