Report Claims Border Wall Construction Disturbed Burial Site

The construction of barriers along the southern border of the United States has harmed delicate ecosystems, public territories, and Native American heritage locations, according to a study by an impartial government research organization.

Made public on Thursday, this 72-page document represents the Government Accountability Office (GAO)’s initial independent examination of the environmental and cultural impact of the border wall’s construction.

It alleges, among other acts of destruction, government contractors using explosives to “blast” a sacred Indigenous grave and left a slope “in danger of collapse.”

The research focuses on the time period from January 2017 to January 2021, which was the former president Donald Trump’s administration. Trump is never specifically mentioned in the memo, but it explains how federal officials at the time relied on national security clauses to get around existing safeguards.

“Federal agencies built about 450 miles of barriers along the US southwest border. To expedite construction, they waived federal environmental and other laws,” said the GAO in the report.

“The construction harmed some cultural and natural resources, for example, by blasting at a tribal burial site and altering water flows.”

The research of the negative effects of the border wall is the most thorough one to date. It occurs at a time when immigration is still a contentious issue in US politics, particularly with the upcoming 2024 presidential election.

“This report lays bare the damage the wall has inflicted on wildlife, public lands, and Indigenous cultural sites,” Laiken Jordahl, a conservationist with the Center for Biological Diversity who works in the southwest, told Al Jazeera.

“This report by a nonpartisan, fact-based agency confirms what we have been raising alarm over for years.”

During his 2016 presidential run, Trump prominently featured his promise of a substantial wall along the US-Mexico border, often coupling it with anti-immigrant sentiments and depicting migrants as contributors to crime and violence.

“Build the wall” chants frequently echoed at Trump’s campaign events. Such sentiments reflect a growing global trend. In the past twenty years, there’s been a notable increase in border barriers, with nations including the Dominican Republic, Poland, and India initiating or finalizing wall and fence projects.

By 2022, the Migration Policy Institute recorded 74 global border barriers, a stark contrast to the fewer than twelve present at the conclusion of the Cold War.

Yet, the GAO report indicates significant potential impacts on the environment and cultural sites if border construction isn’t thoroughly assessed beforehand.

“Before building, the Department of Homeland Security [DHS] assessed some potential effects of the construction,” the report’s website said. “But federal officials and stakeholders said they didn’t get enough information from DHS to give meaningful input.”

Building efforts were challenged by the diverse topography of the US’s southern boundary. Numerous sections traverse harsh and challenging environments, such as deserts, mountains, and even coastal shores. To hasten the building process in these areas, the Trump administration leaned on the 2005 Real ID Act. This act permits the government to bypass laws and rules that could obstruct border wall and road constructions.

While the Real ID Act had been invoked by past administrations, the Trump administration’s use of it was notably extensive, applying it 25 to 30 times, in contrast to the Bush administration’s five instances. Moreover, the Trump administration labeled undocumented entries at the southern border as a national crisis, granting the government authority to override current legislations for national security reasons.

“The Trump administration cast those laws aside and plowed forward with no thought about the consequences,” Jordahl said.

In regions where the government wished to proceed with building, such as an oasis with religious significance to the Tohono O’odham Nation in Arizona known as Quitobaquito Springs, this authority allowed the government to disregard objections from Indigenous people.

“Since O’odham ancestors inhabited the area for thousands of years, it is home to several O’odham burial sites,” the report reads.

“According to Tohono O’odham Nation officials, contractors cleared a large area near the springs, destroying a burial site that the tribe had sought to protect.”

In the end, Trump oversaw the construction of 458 miles of border structures, but a significant portion was built on top of pre-existing barriers. The GAO determined that 81 percent of Trump’s wall substituted barriers previously established under prior leaders, such as former President George W. Bush, instead of being constructed in entirely new areas.

During his election campaign, President Joe Biden vowed to halt further border wall expansion, asserting that “not another foot” would be added during his tenure.

When Biden became president in January 2021, he put a stop to construction. The GAO report issued a warning over the decision to stop allocating any resources to the border wall region, stating that “Pausing construction and canceling contracts also paused restoration work—such as finishing water drainage structures and reseeding disturbed areas with native vegetation.”

Jordahl, on the other hand, thinks that going much further will be necessary to undo the harm.

“Ultimately, we want to see this wall removed from sensitive ecosystems where there has been damage to wildlife,” he said.