Environmentalists decried the move that will forego dozens of laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires federal agencies to evaluate the effects of their actions on the environment.

This waiver is another cynical attack by the Trump administration on border communities and wildlife, who deserve the same protections that prevail everywhere else in the country,” said Laiken Jordahl,

The Department of Homeland Security gave U.S. Customs and Border Protection permission to ignore environmental and land regulations and immediately begin constructing a border wall between the United States and Mexico in Southern California,