Overview
- Federal officials and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agreed to stop all ground‑disturbing activity in Big Bend projects through Sept. 30 while allowing non‑ground‑disturbing surveys, real‑estate actions, and cultural and biological assessments to continue.
- Tribal members, religious practitioners and conservation groups have filed lawsuits arguing DHS unlawfully used broad waivers to bypass NEPA, the National Historic Preservation Act and the Archaeological Resources Protection Act and are seeking injunctions.
- CBP has said it will not build 30‑foot bollard walls inside the parks but plans remain for roughly 17 miles of vehicle barriers, hundreds of miles of patrol roads and detection technology tied to a roughly $1.7 billion task order.
- A bipartisan local coalition of ranchers, sheriffs, outfitters and tourism businesses says the work threatens sacred sites, wildlife and the local economy and reports federal officials have warned landowners that refusal to give access could prompt eminent‑domain actions.
- What to watch next are the September court hearings, ongoing stakeholder consultations and CBP on‑site evaluations that could change the scope or length of the pause and determine whether construction resumes.