Feds halt controversial work on border security inside Big Bend National Park

By Ashley Killough, Ed Lavandera, CNN

(CNN) — All border security construction work in Big Bend National Park is being temporarily suspended, Rodney Scott, commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection, announced Monday.

Scott said in a video posted to X he had landed in Texas and was on his way to visit the park and talk to local law enforcement and other stakeholders.

“Last night I put a pause on all activity in that park as far as construction goes till I can get down there and do a personal evaluation,” he said in the video.

Scott’s action came after reporting by CNN and others about the government’s use of heavy machinery this past week to bulldoze and excavate parts of the national park to build patrol roads and vehicle barriers. The construction activity prompted protests in and around the national park, and local businesses have been turning away federal contractors who are working on the project. A bipartisan group of local sheriffs has also been publicly outspoken against CBP’s plans this year.

Those plans include a broader project beyond the national park to install sweeping border security infrastructure along the Rio Grande in the remote region of Texas. Labeled the “Big Bend Sector” by CBP, this area covers a quarter of the US-Mexico border but sees only about 1% of border apprehensions, in part due to the area’s rugged terrain.

CBP plans for the Big Bend region currently include building 175 miles of 30-foot steel bollard wall along the Rio Grande in areas west of the national park. The agency 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, the agency said last week. The Big Bend project also includes plans to build 165 miles of vehicle barriers in areas east of the national park.

The cost of the entire project is expected to exceed $7 billion and will be covered by the $46.5 billion allocated for border wall construction in Trump’s signature legislation, the “Big Beautiful Bill.”

To expedite the process, the Department of Homeland Security has waived numerous laws protecting environmental, historical, and cultural resources, including the Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act. At least four lawsuits have been filed this year attempting to challenge or thwart the government’s border project in the Big Bend region.

Opponents of the construction told CNN they welcomed Scott’s pause on the work and his visit but were cautious about the outcome.

Jeff Leach, the owner of Basecamp Terlingua in Terlingua, near the national park, said, “It reveals that standing up for our public lands does work.”

“If he (Rodney Scott) doesn’t alter the trajectory after visiting, then it will only reveal how corrupt and inept the entire process has been. If he does nothing, this place is going to go nuts and the national pressure will only increase.”

His views were echoed by Billy Bartko, owner of Far Flung Outdoor Center, which offers guided river trips and has been operating in the national park for 50 years.

“It’s disturbing that this is the first time he’s come to talk to us. They’ve already altered the park and they did it without any planning. It reeks of irresponsibility,” he added. “It should have been done before they unleashed bulldozers in Big Bend National Park.”

Bartko is part of a new lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order against the Trump administration’s border plan for the national park and other sections in the overall project. In a declaration filed with the motion, Bartko argued construction activity in the park could affect his business by altering the remote, quiet scenery customers hope to experience.

The lawsuit also includes the People of La Junta for Preservation, which is a group that preserves Indigenous places, and Christina Hernandez, a member of the Lipan Apache Tribe who believes the border plan violates her religious freedoms. Hernandez says she practices a Native religion that’s tied to the geography of the area, and she has plans to participate in a religious reburial at a traditional burial site within the proposed border-wall corridor. She claims the government’s border project would cut off access to sites where she practices her religion.

While the lawsuit acknowledges the laws that were waived by DHS, it points out DHS hasn’t waived the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, nor a provision in the law that explicitly assigns the protection and development of Big Bend National Park to the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service.

More lawsuits are expected, local stakeholders have told CNN. A federal judge has already sided with the Trump administration in one lawsuit, allowing the government to proceed with construction plans through a levee system in Presidio, Texas.

Republican Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland of Terrell County is among the law enforcement leaders expected to meet with Scott this week. Cleveland, who worked for Border Patrol for 26 years, has publicly opposed CBP’s plans for physical barriers in the region, arguing they’re unnecessary and ineffective. He said he believes the agency should spend money on border security technology instead.

“I appreciate his willingness to see the terrain firsthand,” Cleveland told CNN, adding he’s been encouraging Scott to visit for months. “There is still an opportunity to make this plan better and to tailor it to the realities of this part of the border.”

This story has been updated with additional details.

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