People who oppose the border wall construction in Starr County include local residents, politicians, immigration activists and now wildlife conservationist.

"It is a really shocking power that the secretary of homeland security has," Laiken Jordahl from the Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center said.

They are particularly upset about it cutting through the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

"We've had almost 500 miles of border walls built, and we still are seeing a record number of immigrants arriving here. So it's really clear that border walls don't do anything to address migration or asylum seekers," Jordahl said.

A construction date has yet to be announced, but the Associated Press is reporting the law requires the construction to be completed in this year.