USA · updated 1h ago · 3 min read
Big Bend Landowners Sue DHS, CBP Over Expedited Border Barrier Construction
Coalition of 230 landowners and Conserve Big Bend filed in DC federal court. Lawsuit argues DHS/CBP lacks authority to fast-track border infrastructure.
How the story characterises the main justification for fast-tracking.
7 of 8 outlets skipped it: construction activity in Big Bend National Park paused until Sept. 30.
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Same story, two versions
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NBC News
“wrongly designated the area along the Texas border as one of “high illegal entry.”Read the original ↗
Common Dreams stresses factual contradiction, while NBC frames it as a wrongful designation.
Big Bend lawsuit filed
A coalition of Big Bend landowners filed a federal lawsuit Monday seeking to stop planned border construction in the region, challenging federal plans for barriers and other border infrastructure that they say could permanently alter the Big Bend landscape.
“names the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott as defendants”
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and names the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, and CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott as defendants.
Plaintiffs argue DHS lacks authority to use expedited border barrier construction powers in the Big Bend sector because the area does not meet the legal threshold of having "high illegal entry" rates under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.
The coalition asked the court to issue preliminary and permanent injunctions stopping construction and reverse the federal government’s designation of the area as having high illegal entry, while construction activity inside Big Bend National Park remained paused through the end of the month.
At a news conference at the Presidio County Courthouse in Marfa, Clara Bensen of Conserve Big Bend and the No Big Bend Wall initiative said, "Congress explicitly set a strict legal prerequisite for that extraordinary power: it can only be invoked in designated areas of 'high illegal entry.'"
CBP says no 30-foot wall
The lawsuit comes after CBP announced Aug. 13 plans to improve border infrastructure in the Big Bend area, and CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said the agency was not building a 30-foot wall or stadium lighting through Big Bend National Park, Big Bend Ranch State Park, or the Black Gap Wildlife Management Area.
In an Aug. 17 statement, Scott announced a pause in construction activities, extending a pause that had originally been set to last until Aug. 31 through Sept. 30.
Landowners and conservationists at the Presidio County Courthouse in Marfa framed the project as a threat to private property and access to the Rio Grande, with Yolanda Alvarado saying, "There is no transparency from our own government or officials because they know this wall will not stop immigration nor will it slow it down."
David Keller, an archaeologist and historian, said several federally recognized archaeological sites lie within the proposed project area and argued construction could require blasting through limestone bedrock, potentially affecting culturally significant sites including ancient Native American rock art.
Keller also said the project could harm tourism, and the Texas Tribune reported that CBP said crews were beginning survey and design work to build an access road and place vehicle barriers while maintaining visitor access and preserving the landscape.
What’s at stake next
The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare DHS’s "high illegal entry" determinations for the Big Bend sector unlawful, vacate those determinations, and block construction until the federal government complies with applicable laws.
“filed a lawsuit in U.S. district court in Washington D.C. against the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection”
The Texas Public Radio reported that the lawsuit seeks an injunction to stop border wall construction in the entire region, including on steel vehicle barriers and roads inside Big Bend National Park, while also claiming landowners’ Fifth Amendment due process rights are being violated.
The Texas Tribune reported that CBP recorded 3,096 migrant encounters in the sector in fiscal year 2025, which it described as 1.3% of the 237,538 apprehensions recorded across the entire U.S.-Mexico border.
NBC News reported that the coalition includes a coalition of about 230 landowners and six plaintiffs, and it said Conserve Big Bend alleged that in 2025 the Big Bend sector tallied the fewest apprehensions—just 1.3%—among the total of nine Southwest border sectors.N
In the lawsuit’s framing of consequences, Clara Bensen argued that "You cannot legally bypass the laws of this country by fabricating an emergency that does not exist," and the suit contends the expedited authority threatens wildlife, water, Indigenous rights, historic resources, and private property.