WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, Congressman Tom Tiffany (WI-07), who chairs the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands, introduced the Trash Reduction and Suppressing Harm from Environmental Degradation (TRASHED) at the Border Act to limit the environmental damage on federal lands from illegal aliens.
“Having seen the litter of trash, clothes, and human waste on our federal borderlands firsthand, I can tell you that the environmental damage of President Biden’s open border needs critical attention,” said Congressman Tiffany. “While the Biden administration turns a blind eye to the environmental consequences of illegal immigration, the TRASHED Border Act ensures there is greater transparency and accountability for illegals who litter on our public lands.”
“The Biden border crisis is an unmitigated disaster, resulting in trash piled up in sensitive habitats and environmental degradation all along the southern border. I saw these alarming conditions firsthand when I visited the border last year, and they have deteriorated precipitously since. The Biden administration has refused to take action, and now Congress must step up to prevent further environmental degradation due to Biden’s border crisis. The TRASHED Border Act will force the administration to fix the problem they created. Representative Tiffany has been a strong voice in this battle on the committee this Congress, and I commend him for his leadership on this issue and on the Federal Lands Subcommittee,” said House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (AR-04).
Specifically, the TRASHED Border Act would require the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Interior to develop protocols to mitigate trash accumulation and the destruction of wildlife habitats along federal borderlands and sites associated with illegal immigration. Federal land managers must also report on the total amount of trash and environmental degradation caused by illegal border crossings.
This legislation also doubles fines and penalties for illegal immigrants who contribute to the environmental degradation of our federal borderlands.
Background:
With about 40% of the land along the U.S.-Mexico border being federally managed, illegal immigrants leave behind trash, including human waste, medical products, abandoned vehicles, and plastic. The illegal trash dumping, illegal trails created, and campfires started along the border threaten wildlife, destroy habitats, and attract disease-carrying insects such as mosquitoes and flies. Human waste is also a growing problem that contaminates the drinking water of nearby residents and endangers crop production.
In fiscal year (FY) 2021, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) provided data to the House Natural Resources Committee that found BLM district offices had to clean up 235 sites, collecting over 193 tons of garbage. It is also estimated that each illegal immigrant will discard between 6 to 8 pounds of trash as they illegally cross the southern border.
The full text of the TRASHED Border Act can be found here. You can also read more here.
