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Big Bend Work Paused
The Trump administration paused border construction in Big Bend National Park in Texas, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Rodney Scott saying on Monday that “CBP is pausing all construction activity in Big Bend National Park while I visit and conduct a personal, on-the-ground evaluation.”
“CBP is pausing all construction activity in Big Bend National Park while I visit and conduct a personal, on-the-ground evaluation”
The project had involved contractors building a new patrol road and vehicle barriers along the border with Mexico, with bulldozers and excavators carving a path through the park’s natural attractions.
The pause came after footage of bulldozers ploughing through the 800,000-acre Chihuahuan desert national park emerged earlier this month, and the Trump administration had initially denied construction on a multibillion-dollar “smart wall” expansion in the park.
In West Texas, opponents said the pause appeared to already be in effect on Monday, with Jenna Cantrell telling the New York Times, “They’re not working. We didn’t see any contractor traffic at all.”
Officials, Residents, Pushback
CBP’s pause was framed as an evaluation and stakeholder outreach, with Scott saying he would “listen to local leadership, community members and stakeholders” while he assessed what he described as “real” national security threats.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the pause followed a conversation with Scott and that the secretary committed there would be “no construction of any type of barrier in Big Bend National Park,” while Abbott also pointed to technology tools like drones and fiber optics.
The New York Times reported that Jenna Cantrell, who lives in nearby Terlingua, Texas, said, “Every day the bulldozers aren’t working is a nice day,” but added, “We’re not going to rest until there’s no more contract.”
The Guardian reported that outgoing senator John Cornyn sent a letter to Markwayne Mullin, the US homeland security secretary, asking him to halt construction, writing that “My constituents believe that the 1,000-foot riverbank cliffs and remote Big Bend terrain offers its own sources of deterrence.”
What’s at Stake Next
The pause did not end the broader border effort, and CNN reported that CBP plans for the Big Bend region include building 175 miles of 30-foot steel bollard wall along the Rio Grande in areas west of the national park.
“CBP plans for the Big Bend region currently include building 175 miles of 30-foot steel bollard wall”
CNN also said CBP does not plan to build such a traditional wall in the national park or state park, but has begun clearing land for 200 miles of patrol roads and 17 miles of vehicle barriers in specific locations.
Opponents said the work threatens the park’s environment and tourism, and CNN quoted Jeff Leach, owner of Basecamp Terlingua in Terlingua, saying, “It reveals that standing up for our public lands does work.”
CNN reported that lawsuits have been filed, including a new lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order that includes the People of La Junta for Preservation and Christina Hernandez, a member of the Lipan Apache Tribe who said the border plan would violate her religious freedoms by cutting off access to sites where she practices a Native religion tied to the area’s geography.
