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CBP Pauses Big Bend Park Construction as Texas Officials Push Back

The agency halted in‑park work for an on‑site review by Commissioner Rodney Scott, signaling a possible reworking of planned vehicle barriers, patrol roads, surveillance systems.

People protest border wall construction in the Big Bend region outside Texas Parks and Wildlife Department headquarters in Austin on Aug. 19, 2026. The demonstrators gathered ahead of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission’s annual public hearing, where advocates planned to urge the commission to intervene in proposed border barrier construction inside Texas state parks.
Tyler Priest, of Fort Davis, center, holds a sign as he waits in line to enter Texas Parks and Wildlife Department headquarters during a protest of border wall construction in the Big Bend region in Austin on Aug. 19, 2026. The demonstrators gathered ahead of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission’s annual public hearing, where advocates planned to urge the commission to intervene in proposed border barrier construction inside Texas state parks.
A sign is seen as people protest border wall construction in the Big Bend region outside Texas Parks and Wildlife Department headquarters in Austin on Aug. 19, 2026. The demonstrators gathered ahead of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission’s annual public hearing, where advocates planned to urge the commission to intervene in proposed border barrier construction inside Texas state parks.
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Overview

  • On Aug. 17 CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott announced a pause on construction inside Big Bend National Park to conduct a personal evaluation and meet with local stakeholders.
  • The pause covers in‑park activity while a larger Project 4 program remains funded and would still deploy vehicle barriers, roughly 205 miles of patrol roads and cameras, and about 17 miles of vehicle barrier systems outside the park.
  • Local residents, former Republican officials and conservation groups pressed Texas Parks and Wildlife commissioners on Aug. 20 to use state law and administrative tools to block or condition federal work on state and protected lands.
  • State actions already in motion include a cease‑and‑desist letter from the Texas Land Commissioner for work on private ranchland and legal claims pointing to Texas Parks and Wildlife Code requirements for notice, hearings and findings before dedicating parkland.
  • Officials and locals say the halt may not be permanent and that the near term will hinge on Scott’s visits, an upcoming federal hearing on DHS waivers, and likely court fights and land access disputes over private and state properties.