Houston Audubon asks you to please call or fax your Congressional Representative and request they defeat the requirement for a double 18' high chain link fence along all 700 miles of fenced border with California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas as required by Amendment 1399 to 1373 of HR 2892. This requirement would supersede the less harsh terms approved on 12/26/07 in the Omnibus Appropriations Bill.

Call for Organizations to Stop the U.S. House from Approving the Double-Fence

by Adreienne Evans, Co-Founder, No Wall-Big Bend Coalition

Regarding Department of Homeland Security Senate Appropriations HR 2892 Amendment 1399 to Amendment 1373, sponsored by Senator DeMint, and passed on July 8, 2009 by the U.S. Senate. Now to be considered by the House before possibly being signed into law. Basically, if this amendment passes the House, it would mean replacing or adding to all existing fencing (by New Years Eve 2010) with the construction of an 18-foot-high, double pedestrian fence for the hundreds of miles of existing border wall/vehicle barrier in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California; in other words, it reinstitutes the harsh intent of the Secure Fence Act and dispenses with the changes instituted by the Omnibus Appropriations Bill that passed 12/26/07. It would also dispense with all consultation requirements with border residents.

Since this terrible amendment passed the Senate yesterday, there is now a need to gather forces among the various groups and individuals who oppose the border wall, and immediately initiate a major call and letter campaign. I propose also organizing a protest campaign to target the offices of House representatives who may be leaning toward voting yes on the amendment, and some calls to Senators who voted for it as well to express great displeasure -- especially Democrats such as Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein. And don't forget to call and write Obama, who may become our last hope to keep this amendment from becoming law. However, he voted for the Secure Fence Act. Still, he has since softened his stance somewhat, and he needs to hear from us, because he certainly hears from the other side. We cannot "sit on our hands" this time around, and wait for construction crews to arrive. We must stop this either in the House of Representatives or by asking President Obama to line-item veto the amendment. Do border residents realize what the double-fence requirement really means in terns of environmental impact? No consultation or laws to slow this down. It will create a giant swath of fencing, roads and lights.

A double wall is unthinkable. Please take action today!

U.S. Border Fence near San Diego (source:Wikipedia)