What should people know about potential borders barriers in Big Bend?

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Since President Trump’s presidency re-entries to build border barriers in areas of the U.S. Mexico border that are currently in place since his return to office in January 2025.

That includes the Big Bend territory in much West Texas, home to the Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park — both of which the Trump administration has targeted for border security system.

Along the entire southwest border, generally, the region has seen the fewest unlawful crossings. However, the Trump administration has signed billions of dollars worth of contracts to build infrastructure to stop illegal border crossings while advising West Texas people that they will not construct a border wall or fence in the area.

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Local residents, environmentalists and a bipartisan group of elected officials, including sheriffs and state judges, have also asked the administration to prevent all design.

What are the current findings from the Trump administration’s efforts to put borders protection in the Big Bend area:

What are they constructing in the park’s interior?

In August, when tractors arrived at the playground, U. S. Customs and Border Protection said the crew were beginning review and style work to build an access route and place car obstacles.

CBP stated in a statement on August 13 that it is working to keep guest access and maintain the landscape, but that the building is necessary for border security.

CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott stated that” these developments will help our brokers detect illegal bridges, respond more quickly, and enable visitors in risk.” ” As we strengthen the frontier across the west, we will not keep Big Bend as an entry for organizations to utilize by shifting their routes and strategies”.

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But after a sustained uproar by residents and anti-wall advocates, Scott announced on Aug. 17 that his company has paused construction work in the national park while he conducts an “on-the-ground evaluation”, reversing course after heavy machinery had begun moving dirt.

According to Scott on social media,” I put a halt to all activity in that park, as far as construction goes, until I can go there and conduct a personal evaluation, talk to some stakeholders, talk to some local law enforcement in that area,” he said. More to follow this week, please.

The length of the pause is unclear.

Does the Big Bend area experience a lot of illegal crossings?

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Despite being U at the time. S. Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem called the Big Bend Sector” an area of high illegal entry” last year when the government waived various federal laws to begin construction, it is the least busy of all the Border Patrol sectors.

The state and national parks are also part of the largest Border Patrol sector, which includes 77 Texas counties and 517 miles of the 1,954-mile-long U.S. Mexico border.

In the sector during the fiscal year 2025, CBP recorded 3, 096 migrant encounters, which is only 1.3 % of the total 237, 538 apprehensions recorded along the entire U.S.-Mexico border.

Apprehensions borderwide dropped 74 % last year compared to the two previous fiscal years, and Big Bend has followed that trend: In the first seven months of the current fiscal year, the sector logged 1, 236 encounters, a 42.5 % drop compared to the first seven months of the previous year.

Will 30-foot-tall barriers be constructed in the park?

No, according to officials from the Trump administration, who have stated that they intend to install other types of deterrents, such as vehicle barriers and technology to detect illegal crossings.

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“Big Bend National Park has some just, like, unbelievably huge granite cliffs. It would be kind of silly to put like a 30-foot border wall on top of a 90-foot granite cliff,” Scott said in a May interview with the Examiner. “So what we’re trying to convey is that we are going to have meaningful border security in that entire area.”

On Aug. 17, Gov. Greg Abbott claimed that he had spoken with DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and that no 30-foot-tall barriers would be placed in the park.

Why has there been such a lot of misunderstanding about this project?

CBP has repeatedly changed its plans, which the public could only see via on its website, sometimes indicating there would be a border wall in both the state and national parks.

Another reason is that the contracts that have been awarded state that they are border barriers. Officials from the Trump administration have previously stated that the plans are preliminary and could change based on the needs of Border Patrol agents stationed on the ground.

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Also, landowners in the region have received letters from CBP threatening to seize some of their property through eminent domain, but many say the government won’t tell them what it plans to do with the land.

Will there be border barriers constructed outside the park?

Yes, in the opinion of CBP.

On its website, CBP includes an interactive map that shows the federal government has awarded contracts to install 30-foot tall barriers on private land outside of the parks.

Additionally, a notice posted on CBP’s website in January 2026 mentions the federal government’s plans to install border walls along 175 miles of Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, and Presidio counties.

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Who is opposed to the Trump administration’s policies?

The opposition has been broad and bipartisan.

Residents of the area have criticized any kind of border infrastructure because it is necessary in such a secure and isolated location. Those whose land has been seized fear losing their farms, homes, and businesses.

Environmentalists also oppose the federal government’s efforts, saying any type of construction in the area could disrupt the delicate desert ecosystem. Some people are concerned about construction crews destroying threatened species.

The black-capped vireo, Mexican long-nosed bat, Big Bend gambusia, Rio Grande silvery minnow, and Chisos hedgehog cactus are among the species and plants on the endangered special list, according to the National Park Service.

Some archaeologists, meanwhile, warn that construction crews could plow through historical sites that include many of significance to Native American and Mexican families who can trace their lineage to before the area was part of the United States or Mexico.

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A bipartisan group of local elected officials have argued that the area is brimming with natural barriers, such as soaring cliffs above the Rio Grande. In addition to a wall, county judges, mayors, and sheriffs have written letters to the Trump administration to ask them to meet with local leaders to explain what kind of border security initiatives might be successful.

The sheriffs of Brewster, Culberson, Hudspeth, Presidio and Terrell counties — a mix of Democrats and Republicans — wrote an open letter that said:” Based on decades of combined experience working with this terrain, we believe that construction of a continuous physical border wall in the Big Bend region would not represent the most practical or strategic approach to border security in this area”.

State elected officials have also requested that the Trump administration reconsider its plans.

Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham accused the company of illegally clearing state land in Presidio County in a cease and desist letter in July sent to CBP and federal contractor Barnard Construction.

On Aug. 12, U. S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, sent a letter asking Mullin to meet with area residents before continuing with any further construction. A coalition of 46 state House representatives sent a letter to Abbott two days later, urging him to demand that construction in the area be stopped right away.

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What legal action have the opponents engaged in?

On Aug. 14, the People of La Junta for Preservation, a nonprofit associated with the Lipan Apache community, and Far Flung Outdoor Center, a Terlingua business that provides guided river trips and other recreational services in the Big Bend area, sued the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies to block construction in Big Bend National Park, arguing that the project is contrary to U. S. law and threatens constitutionally protected religious freedoms.

The Trump administration’s latest federal lawsuit seeks to stop the federal government’s efforts to build border security infrastructure in the area.

The Trump administration was also sued by Friends of the Ruidosa Church, a preservation organization in the area, the Center for Biological Diversity, a national nonprofit, and a Terlingua resident who works as a river guide to stop the construction of the border wall in the area.

In June, Democracy Forward, a nonprofit based in Washington, D. C., filed a lawsuit on behalf of Presidio Municipal Development District, an economic development organization for the city of Presidio and Presidio County, against the Trump administration to halt border wall construction.

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In its lawsuit, the group contends that building a wall in Presidio could cause dangerous floods by constructing it next to existing earthen levees.

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Aug 18, 2026Hill Country Post

What should people know about potential borders barriers in Big Bend?

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