Pasadena Federal Court Will Hear Arguments in President Trump’s Border Wall Case Today, Demonstration Planned

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena on Tuesday will hear an appeal brought by the Center for Biological Diversity and the state of California to challenge a federal court decision in March allowing the Trump administration’s border wall near San Diego to proceed.

The Center for Biological Diversity, a national, nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to the protection of endangered species, sued the Trump administration last year saying the Department of Homeland Security did not have authority to waive dozens of laws to rush construction of the border wall and its prototypes.

When it did waive those laws, the DHS highlighted the “Trump administration’s dangerous disregard for our environment and the rule of law,” the Center said.

A U.S. Circuit judge heard arguments on the case in February, and ruled against the Center in March. The Center appealed.

Attorneys representing the Center for Biological Diversity are asking the Court of Appeals to rule that the Trump administration illegally waived dozens of environmental, public health, and tribal sovereignty laws to build replacement walls and prototypes south of San Diego.

“Trump is ignoring bedrock environmental protections and relying on a congressional waiver that expired years ago,” Brian Segee, a senior attorney at the Center, said. “Borderland communities and wildlife deserve the same protections as everyone else in the country. We’re hopeful that the court will put an end to this lawlessness and executive overreach.”

Citing a 2017 study, the Center said more than 90 endangered species would be threatened by proposed wall construction along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border.

A press release by the Center said a rally will precede the hearing Tuesday outside the court at 125 S. Grand Avenue. The hearing begins at 9 a.m.