BORDER/TEXAS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “As the federal government prepares to begin construction of barriers and fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, activists in the Rio Grande Valley are joining forces to oppose the projects. The groups that gathered over the weekend in Mission include the No Border Wall coalition and the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas. Construction equipment arrived in South Texas on Monday as announced by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in November. The National Butterfly Center posted a photo Sunday that shows an excavator parked next to its property. Construction would cut through the butterfly center, a nearby state park, and a century-old Catholic chapel next to the river, according to maps release by Customs and Border Protection in September. The agency intends to build 25 miles of concrete walls to the height of the existing flood-control levee in Hidalgo County next to the Rio Grande, the river that forms the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas. On top of the concrete walls, CBP will install 18-foot steel posts and clear a 150-foot enforcement zone in front.”
–Beatriz Alvarado, “Border wall projects slated for February facing opposition in the Rio Grande Valley,” USA Today, February 5, 2019 11:45 pm