TEHRAN, Feb 16 - A US court rejected a butterfly sanctuary that had sued to keep President Donald Trump's proposed border wall from cutting the refuge in two, AFP reported.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - For months the National Butterfly Center has been arguing that the wall would be devastating for those insects and other creatures living in this habitat in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
As many as 200 species of butterfly live in the sanctuary, as do bobcats, coyotes, skunk pigs, armadillos and Texas turtles.
Financing for a wall going through the sanctuary was approved last year and is separate from the border appropriation fight that is currently roiling Washington. Construction could begin in a matter of weeks, local people said.
The North American Butterfly Association, which runs the refuge, sued the government on grounds that the sanctuary is private property.
But federal judge Richard Leon ruled Thursday that the project can proceed.
The butterfly center said that on the same day the president announced that he would declare a state of emergency, the federal judge threw out their case.
Trump has been calling for a wall along the southern border since his 2016 presidential campaign, pledging that Mexico would pay for it.
Funding for the wall has led to a budget impasse, causing the ongoing partial government shutdown, the longest in US history.
Trump demands over $5 billion, for which he is "proud" to shut down the government but Democrats are not offering more than $1.3 billion.
US government shutdown had such prolonged that federal employees who most never needed the help of food pantry made beeline for their basics in food banks.
The federal government shuttered late last year after the president refused to sign legislation to fund it.
Efforts to negotiate the funding between Democratic leaders and the White House have failed after several rounds of negotiations.
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