People upset over rush on new border wall

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a waiver Friday to expedite the border wall project in Yuma.

The wall will be built along two separate sections of the border, which are both known for illegal activity.

One section of the wall will start at the Morelos Dam and extend south for about five-and-a-half miles.

The other section will be about 13 miles east of the Arizona State Prison and will run for about four miles east along the border.

However, this waiver to expedite the wall may be a slap in the face to the two dozen community organizations, along with residents who don’t agree with this project.

They were seeking a 30-day extension to try and overturn the proposal on the grounds of environmental concerns, but now it may be too late.

The Department of Defense is already set to work with the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to plan and execute the new border wall immediately.

According to the waiver, these government organizations won’t have to comply with various standard laws, in order to speed up the project.

Which is what Isaac Russell, a Yuma resident, who was working to submit a community statement against the wall, is upset about.

Russell said, “It’s the perversion of the process. If the project is going to go through, let’s do it correctly. Let’s involve the stakeholders in this community so they’re involved in the process of this project.”

Russell acknowledges that there is an issue with immigration at the border, but he said the solution isn’t a wall.

He suggests that funding instead goes towards better immigration processing centers.

DHS said it is following President Donald Trump’s executive order to build the wall.

Still, the department is figuring out how to build it as fast as possible, with minimal impact on the environment and cultural land.

The wall will have a price tag of 187 million dollars.