Overview
- Conserve Big Bend joined dozens of landowners in filing a lawsuit challenging the administration’s plans for walls, vehicle barriers, roads and sensors in the remote Big Bend region.
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection says in‑park work has been paused and described recent activity as survey and design rather than construction, but opponents remain unconvinced.
- More than 200 landowners report receiving federal letters saying the government needs access to their property and warning of referral to the Justice Department for eminent domain if agreements are not reached.
- Plaintiffs argue the Department of Homeland Security is misusing statutory waiver authority to skip environmental, cultural and archaeological reviews in an area that accounts for a small share of border arrests.
- Conservationists, tribal groups, local businesses and some Republican officials warn the plans could harm wildlife corridors, flood risk, tribal sites and the region’s tourism economy while shaping near‑term political and legal fights over the $46 billion border program.