Will Trump's Mexico Border Wall Be Ever Built? First Lawsuit Claims Damage To Wildlife Species

Even before any concrete details of President Donald Trump's proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border could be released from the Trump administration, it already faces a legal challenge. The Center for Biological Diversity, a not for profit based in Arizona, which works to protect endangered species, filed the lawsuit Wednesday.

The group claims that construction of a barrier from San Diego — from where the construction would start — to Texas will have disastrous impacts on animals such as jaguars, wolves and more than 100 other species in the border region. “Trump’s border wall will divide and destroy the incredible communities and wild landscapes along the border,” Kierán Suckling, the Center’s executive director, said in a statement.

Read: Trump Administration Wants $1 Billion To Cover 62 Miles Of US-Mexico Border Wall

Along with the Center for Biological Diversity, Rep. Raúl Grijalva from district Arizona, is also a plaintiff in this lawsuit, which is the first against Trump’s proposed wall. Grijalva serves as ranking member of the House Committee on Natural Resources.

The lawsuit specifically targets the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which is responsible for ensuring border security along the U.S.-Mexico border. The agency declined to respond to the litigation, citing standard policy, according to reports.

The lawsuit alleges the federal government's border security enforcement plan is not in compliance with the National Environment Policy Act. It also asks the agencies to conduct an environmental impact study, which was supposed to be done a decade ago. A preliminary study was conducted in 2001, and DHS was to conduct a more comprehensive study five years later, but it hasn't been done.

"Border security policy has evolved and changed dramatically since 2001, the last time an analysis was done," said Randy Serraglio, Southwest conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity. She added: "Things are dramatically different now. Border Patrol doubled in size, hundreds of miles of fencing are constructed already, and lots of damage has already been done," USA Today reported.