Voices of the Border

Homes affected by the Border wall

The border between the U.S and Mexico spans 2,000 miles. Trumps proposed continuous border wall would run through homes, churches, sanctuaries. Taking family land past down through generations and separating communitys.
Trumps proposed border wall will cost $5 million dollars

It would cut through private land, using eminent domain to take family homes.

The wall would also cut through wildlife preserves destroying habitats and putting endangered animals such as the north American jaguar and Mexican wolf in more danger.

People living on the border fear the loss of their homes and property.

They do not have to negotiate, settle or adjudicate anything prior to seizing the land. So literally the bulldozers are just going to roll in and nothing can be done to stop them
-Marianna Trevino-Wright

"We've never crossed the border; the border crossed us."

-Verlon Jose, vice chairman of the Tohono O'odham Nation
The Native American people of the Tohono O'odham Nation live on the border between Arizona and Mexico. They fear that the wall may split their people
They are currently fighting against a border wall would cut across about 62 miles of Tohono O'odham land.

"We feel betrayed back for 160 years when this international boundary was created, without any consent or any discussion. To put a border wall here it would be detrimental to our people. It would have a psychological effect. You would have an emotional effect. I think you wouldn't like it if I dug a wall right through your home. This is our traditional homelands."
-Verlon Jose


We dont want this wall, We will lose all of this.

- Dora Villarreal
The government seeks to take land from the owners of this neighborhood forcing them to relocate from a home they have known for years. They are being kept in the dark about border plans and some worry that their American home may end up on the Mexico side of the fence.

Colonia De La Cruz
Neighborhood in Roma, Texas


I don't really know where it stops, where the border is. People come here to feel free.

- Osiris Ortiz
People treck from both sides of the border to pray and find peace at the sacred site of Mount Cristo Rey. The wall could affect peoples access to this sacred site.

Mount Cristo Rey
A place of Christian pilgrimage on the border. Visited by those from both sides of the border.

"Imagine coming home one day and finding people cutting down your trees, ripping up your fence and destroying your yard."

-Marianna Trevino Wright, National Butterfly Center's executive director
Construction equipment has already arrived at the National Butterfly Center in Mission Texas. Which is home to 200 species of wild butterfly. The center attempted to bring its case to the Supreme court but was declined. Nearby lies a historical cemetery that could also be impacted by the construction

"It's going to be a no man's land, Border Patrol's enforcement zone. They will clear everything... It is going to be eliminated."

-Marianna Trevino Wright, National Butterfly Center's executive director

I was born here, my dad was born here, my ancestors were born here. We are American. Why can't they take that into consideration?"


Aleida Flores Garcia's home is one of the 4,900 parcels of private land that could be seized or affected in Texas alone.

"Populations of wild cats need freedom to roam."

" It's imperative that populations of jaguars, bobcats, cougars, and ocelots are not further threatened by an insurmountable barrier that disrupts their natural movement patterns."

- Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, CEO of Panthera
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The wall would cut off migration patterns of animals like jaguars. It would separate jaguars from America from those from Mexico, therefore, limiting the genetic diversity and population growth. Solid walls in a floodplain could also create dangerous flooding. Extremely tall fences could affect low flying birds and bats such as pygmy owls.
The Mexican Gray wolf is the most endangered wolf in the world. Only 113 remain in the US and even less live south of the border. The wall would separate these populations hurting the chances of successful repopulation.

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