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County supes vote to oppose border wall, support Paris climate accords

Posted at 12:15 PM, Jun 06, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-06 20:17:07-04

The Pima County Board of Supervisors passed two resolutions Tuesday geared at opposing White House policies.

The two hot issues for President Trump: his commitment to build a border wall, and his decision to pull out of the Paris Accords to fight climate change.

Most of the public speakers at the Board of Superviors meeting on Tuesday focused on climate change.

A few added that a bigger wall would disrupt the desert environment and disrupt positive cultural and business relations with Mexico.

The Supervisors considered two resolutions. 

One says Pima County will live up to climate change efforts outlined in the Paris Accords. The other condemns the President's order to build the wall as a destructive waste of time and money.

Supervisor Ally Miller called for better legal immigration policy but says an improved wall will protect against drugs and terrorism.

Supervisor Steve Christy says the resolutions are distractions from county business that have no legal weight.

"Can you just envision in Washington somebody's pounding on President Trump's gold plated bathroom door, pounding 'President Trump! President Trump we've got to stop the wall.  The Pima County Board of Supervisors just passed a resolution against it.  What are we gonna do," said Christy.

Read the Pima County Board of Supervisors Resolution on the border wall below:

 

Supervisor Richard Elias says citizen concerns and Pima County's long border with Mexico do make the issues county business.

"And the people in the borderlands deserve to have a voice about what is happening around us and what is happening socially and economically and ecologically with the people who live here at the borderlands."

Tucson City Council is also considering a resolution along the similar lines as the Board of Supervisors and will be voting on it Tuesday night.

Read the City of Tucson border wall resolution below:

In a pair of 3-2 votes, the board voted to oppose the border wall vision supported by President Donald Trump and endorse the fight against climate change, supporting the Paris Agreement, which Trump pulled the U.S. out of last week.

Both resolutions passed via 3-2 votes, with Ally Miller and Steve Christy voting against both measures.