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Trump Officials Accused of Defying Court to Keep Building Wall

Trump Officials Accused of Defying Court to Keep Building Wall

The Trump administration continues to blast and bulldoze in Arizona and California to build a U.S.-Mexico border wall in violation of a court order to cease construction, environmental and civil rights groups said.

A federal appeals court last week rejected the administration’s attempt to divert funds to pay for the wall, ruling it isn’t related to military construction. The Trump administration wrongly asserts that a previous court order allowing construction while the litigation was in progress is still in effect, according to the Sierra Club and other groups.

The administration “will continue to use the funds at issue to blast and bulldoze dozens of miles of land in western Arizona and central California and raise thirty-foot walls, irreversibly damaging landscapes even if the wall is eventually removed,” the groups said in a court filing.

The Sierra Club said the situation is even more urgent because the Trump administration has recently ratcheted up the pace of construction. The Washington Post reported last month that construction crews are adding nearly two miles per day in a race to fulfill Trump’s 2016 campaign pledge ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

The groups asked the appeals court to clarify that the previous order permitting the construction no longer applies, or issue its own expedited order blocking the project.

Read More: Trump U.S.-Mexico Border Wall Funding Rejected by Ninth Circuit

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