The Texan border town of Roma has decided to stand up against U.S. President Donald Trump's border wall construction. The town said residents are mainly concerned about potentially getting displaced after the wall is set in place.
Roma's Assistant City Manager, Freddy Guerra told NBC News that the people are worried about their status once the wall is constructed. "The biggest concern we had with the border wall is, 'Will it displace residents in our community?'" he noted.
Trump's border wall is expected to rise in Roma, separating the community from the Rio Grande River that is already part of the people's lives. The Rio Grande is a fishing site and children are often seen playing by the riverbank.
Roma, with a population of around 11,000 residents, is located across Ciudad Miguel Aleman, Mexico. Its location allows for free interaction between Americans and the people of Mexico. The Customs and Border Protection agency said that without even a fence to separate the two countries, Roma is particularly vulnerable.
On the other hand, Roma residents have expressed their opinions about the American president's wall proposal. Most of them are against the idea of building a wall between Mexico and the U.S.
Noel Benavides, a resident who owns a 150-acre plot of land in Roma, said he fears that the U.S. government will take some of his land for the wall's construction. "It is very personal. Just like it is for Mr. Trump," he said.
Most of the people in Roma fear that Trump's border wall will be constructed within neighborhoods that are closest to Mexico. They predict that such a scenario will force residents to leave their homes or it could initiate flooding problems.
Trump has since signed an emergency declaration following the approval of his border wall funds that reached $1.375 billion - an amount still far from his initial request of $5.7 billion. While most people in Roma are unsure of what will happen next, experts predict that lawsuits will follow soon.
USA Today reported that some against Trump's border wall has already put up a fight. Liberal watchdog group Public Citizen filed a lawsuit on Friday in the District of Columbia. The organization argued that Trump's emergency declaration was overuse of authority.
"Because no national emergency exists with respect to immigration across the southern border, the Presidents Declaration exceeds the limited authority delegated to the President," the lawsuit stated.
California's Attorney General Xavier Becerra has also expressed plans to coordinate with other lawyers around the United States in preparation of a federal lawsuit. For Becerra, Trump's declaration was not at par with cases such as 9-11 or the 1979 Iran hostage crisis.
