US-Mexico Border Wall in San Diego. Image: Bruno Sanchez-Andrade/Flickr
President Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday pushing ahead one of his signature campaign stumps—the construction of a massive $14-20 billion wall along the 2,000-mile-long border with Mexico, designed to deter illegal immigrants and drugs from entering the United States.The wall has faced fierce criticisms from human rights groups for the possible humanitarian disaster it could cause (ask Berlin about this). But if built, the wall could pose another threat altogether: ecological disaster.A barrier would sever animal populations living in the fragile desert ecosystems of the US-Mexico border from food resources, mates, and important migration routes. Such a disruption would deal an irreparable blow to countless species, including extraordinarily rare ones like the Sonoran jaguar and Mexican gray wolf.Read the rest of this article on Motherboard.