FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2019 file photo, Marianna Trevino-Wright, Executive Director of the National Butterfly Center, talks during an interview with The Associated Press in Mission, Texas. The U.S. government is preparing to begin construction of more border walls and fencing in South Texas' Rio Grande Valley, likely on federally-owned land set aside as wildlife refuge property. Heavy construction equipment is supposed to arrive starting Monday. A photo posted by the nonprofit National Butterfly Center shows an excavator parked on its property.(AP Photo/ John L. Mone)
February 12, 2019 - 8:21 AM
HOUSTON - The non-profit National Butterfly Center has asked a federal judge to stop border wall activity on its property as the Trump administration gears up to build new barriers in South Texas and may soon win funding for more.
In a motion filed late Monday, centre director Marianna Trevino Wright says heavy machinery has been driving through their property for a week, including a road grader accompanied by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection vehicle.
The government says it will start this month on the first of 33 miles (53 kilometres) of new walls and fencing. Congress funded construction last year.
Congressional negotiators trying to avoid a second government shutdown reached an agreement Monday to fund an additional 55 miles (88 kilometres) of barriers in the Rio Grande Valley.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019