Waiver used to build border fences unconstitutional, report finds

Brady McCombs
June 1, 2010 10:51 am

The waiver used by then DHS-secretary Michael Chertoff to bypass environmental laws to build hundreds of miles of border fences and roads in 2006-2008 is unconstitutional and should be repealed, found a research paper from a former environmental expert and current UA law student.

The paper is written by Jenny Neeley, a former Southwest Representative of Defenders of Wildlife who is now at the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona. You can read the entire report by opening the PDF in the "Related Documents" box to the left; "Over the Line."

Here is an excerpt from the opening page:

"In April 2008, then-Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Michael Chertoff waived thirty-six federal and state laws across approximately 470 miles of the southern borderlands of the United States, an area spanning across all four border states, in order “to ensure the expeditious constructionâ€