Legislation:

Center for Biological Diversity. Borderlands and boundary waters page with copies of the Secure Fence Act, Real ID Act, and the Borderlands Conservation and Security Act.

Waivers of federal laws under the Real ID Act are published in the Federal Register. The San Diego waiver from September 22, 2005 is available here. The Arizona waiver from January 19, 2007 is available here.

The International Boundary and Water Commission. Responsible for oversight of the US / Mexico border. Border walls along the Rio Grande may violate these treaties with Mexico.

Borderlands Conservation and Security Act. Press release from Arizona Representative Raul Grijalva, author of the bill that would reverse the worst excesses of the Secure Fence Act and Real ID Act.

Reports:

Border Security: Barriers Along the U.S. International Border. Report prepared by the Congressional Research Service that provides an excellent history of border fencing.

Border-Crossing Deaths Have Doubled Since 1995. Government Accountability Office report.

The Funnel Effect and Recovered Bodies of Unauthorized Migrants. Binational Migration Institute report.

“Fencing In Failure”. Report from the American Immigration Law foundation.

On The Line. Defenders of Wildlife report on the impacts of border security measures on the environment.

Ocelot and jaguarundi in South Texas. Environmental Defense factsheet on the endangered cats.

Organizations:

Border Ambassadors is a protest forum for groups and individuals who oppose the border wall. It is also the place to get information about J. Johnson Castro’s inspiring Border Wall-k events. He will be staging a series of Hands Across el Rio events over the course of 16 days and 1250 miles August 25 th through September 9 th.

 Unidos Contra el Muro – United Against the Wall is affiliated with Christian Peacemakers and is working to oppose the construction of the wall because of its terrible human cost.

Environment:

A letter encouraging the House of Representatives to pass the Borderlands Conservation and Security Act has been signed by 40 groups, ranging from the McAllen Chamber of Commerce to Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club.

Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge is a 2,088 acre refuge along the banks of the lower Rio Grande established in 1943 for the protection of migratory birds. Considered the ‘jewel’ of the refuge system, this essential ‘island’ of thorn forest habitat is host or home to nearly 400 different types of birds and a myriad of other species, including the indigo snake, malachite butterfly and the endangered ocelot.

Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park and World Birding Center is a treasure trove of birds found nowhere else in the United States but deepest South Texas as well as rare visitors from across the Rio Grande.

NABA International Butterfly Park is located on the bank of the Rio Grande and is dedicated to the restoration of native habitat and to education, conservation and scientific research on wild butterflies .

The Nature Conservancy’s Lennox Foundation Southmost Preserve is located on a meandering bend of the Rio Grande at the southernmost part of Texas. As part of the Boscaje de la Palma region of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Wildlife Corridor, Southmost Preserve encompasses one of the last stands of native sabal palm trees in the country.

The Valley Nature Center in Weslaco furthers its educational mission by preserving a small piece of native habitat in the heart of a south Texas border town.

Rio Grande Valley Nature Site hosted by Jan and David Dauphin is dedicated to the fantastic birds, butterflies, dragonflies, native plants, wildlife watching sites and rich Hispanic culture found in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.