CBP Halts Border Wall Work in Big Bend
CBP Halts Border Wall Work in Big Bend
The News
Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott has temporarily halted all border security construction inside Big Bend National Park, announcing the pause Monday as he traveled to Texas for what he called an on-the-ground evaluation.
The suspension follows a week of reporting on heavy machinery bulldozing and excavating sections of the federally protected park, and a wave of bipartisan opposition to the work.
CBP has not said whether the pause will become permanent.
Timeline
Over the past week, images and reports of bulldozers and excavators cutting into one of Texas's most celebrated wilderness areas drew public outcry, according to USA Today and Raw Story.
On Monday, Aug. 17, Scott announced in a video posted to X that all construction work for border security inside Big Bend National Park was being temporarily suspended, CNN reported. He said he had flown to Texas to conduct a personal evaluation of the project.
Scott is scheduled to meet with local authorities and other stakeholders Tuesday before deciding next steps.
Reactions
Opposition to the Big Bend project has crossed party lines, according to Raw Story, which described a wave of bipartisan objection to building inside the national park.
Local law enforcement officials oppose CBP's broader Big Bend border project, per CNN's reporting.
CBP's own framing is narrower: Scott cast the halt as a pause for review, not a cancellation, saying he wanted to see the ground himself before the agency goes further.
What's Next
Scott's Tuesday meetings with local officials and stakeholders are the next decision point. After that, CBP has to say whether construction resumes as designed, resumes with a narrower scope, or stops for good.
Two questions hang over the project: whether the pause becomes permanent, and what legal authority, if any, limits CBP's ability to build infrastructure inside a national park.
More
The plans on hold are substantial. Inside the park, CBP has mapped roughly 200 miles of patrol roads and 17 miles of vehicle barriers. West of the park, along the Rio Grande, the agency plans 175 miles of 30-foot steel bollard wall, with another 165 miles of vehicle barriers east of the park.
The scale sits awkwardly against the traffic. The Big Bend Sector covers about a quarter of the U.S. southern border but accounts for roughly 1% of border apprehensions.
Reader poll question: Should the government be allowed to build border barriers inside national parks?
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