The Trump administration has already taken aim at a number of Obama-era environmental rules that protect the public water supply and safeguard children from dangerous pollutants at the behest of Big Oil. Now, he is trampling the environment to make good on one of his central campaign promises: a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Trump wants to scare people into letting him ignore the law and endanger wildlife and people.”
—Brian Segee, Center for Biological Diversity

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Tuesday that it would waive a number of environmental regulations “in order to expedite building security-related barriers and roads along the nation’s border with Mexico near San Diego,” Reuters reported.

“Environmental impact studies generally are required under federal law for building on public lands,” Reuters added, “but in this case the waiver will eliminate a study.”

Last week, the House approved a spending package that included $1.6 billion of funding for Trump’s border wall, which immigrant and refugee rights groups have denounced as “xenophobic” and “fueled by hate.”

Critics had similar words for the DHS announcement on Tuesday.