The Presidio Municipal Development District, an organization that advocates for economic development in the city of Presidio and is governed by a board appointed by the city, filed the lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Washington. The suit names the Trump administration as defendant and seeks to halt the installation of border barriers and surveillance technology along a stretch of the Rio Grande that makes up part of the Big Bend region.
The lawsuit contends that the barriers will block natural water flow and exacerbate flooding in communities already vulnerable to flash floods. The Big Bend area, which spans Presidio, Jeff Davis and Brewster counties, experiences periodic heavy rainfall that can cause the Rio Grande to rise rapidly.
Democracy Forward, a nonprofit law firm based in Washington, D.C., filed the suit on behalf of the district. Skye Perryman, the organization’s president and CEO, said in a statement that the administration’s approach is “reckless” and “disregards the harm border barriers will do to the community.”