A regretful Trump voter lamented the president's proposed border wall would destroy his "butterfly paradise" in south Texas.
Luciano Guerra, a nature photographer and outreach coordinator and educator for the National Butterfly Center in Mission, said he didn't take President Donald Trump seriously when he promised to build a border wall paid for by Mexico -- but now it's threatening his life's work, reported the Washington Post.
"I’m a lifelong Republican who voted for Donald Trump for president in 2016," Guerra said. "I want our immigration laws to be enforced, and I don’t want open borders. But Mission is not a dangerous place. I’ve lived here all my life."
"When the president says there’s a crisis at the border that requires an action as drastic as building a massive concrete wall," Guerra added, "he either knows that it’s not true or he’s living in an alternate reality."
The proposed border wall could wipe out up to 70 percent of the nature sanctuary starting early next year, and Guerra is furious.
"The first section, funded by Congress in 2018 for construction starting early next year, will cut right through our 100-acre refuge, sealing off 70 acres bordering the banks of the Rio Grande," he said. "The plan that we’ve seen calls for 18 feet of concrete and 18 feet of steel bollards, with a 150-foot paved enforcement zone for cameras, sensors, lighting and Border Patrol traffic."
The wall would worsen flooding on the south side of the barrier, animals would be cut off from their ranges for feeding and breeding and bright lights will disrupt the patterns of nocturnal species.
"We dread the destruction that will come when the bulldozers arrive, which could be as early as February," Guerra said. "That loud, heavy machinery will cause irreparable damage to the habitat we’ve worked so hard to restore."
Guerra said he's taking part in political protests for the first time in his life, and he was astonished to see Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) denounce a government program as too expensive.
"Here was a Democrat telling a Republican that a policy would cost too much," he marveled.
The disillusioned Trump voter said the president had lost his support.
"If Donald Trump runs for a second term, he will not get my vote," Guerra said.