BIG BEND, TEXAS — Clara Benson, founder of the No Big Bend Wall Coalition, said the opposition would persist regardless of immediate construction progress. "We will continue to fight for this land no matter what the outcome is. We will continue fighting to the end." She added that local sentiment remains firmly against the infrastructure project.

"You talk to people in west Texas and they say even if they put it up, we’ll fight for them to take it down. So this fight is not over."

Construction in the 47-mile stretch of Hudspeth County is separate from a border infrastructure project in Big Bend National Park, where construction has been temporarily suspended. Judge Orlando Garcia ordered a pause in construction in Big Bend National Park until September 15, allowing both the U.S. government and the plaintiffs to meet and clarify the plans for the area. The administration paused construction and survey work in Big Bend National Park, with the pause due to expire on September 30.

There are five project areas that make up the roughly 500-mile Big Bend region, stretching from an area of Hudspeth County south of El Paso to Lake Amistad. Bob Krumenaker is the former superintendent of Big Bend National Park and currently chairs the advocacy group Keep Big Bend Wild. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has joined the opposition to the border wall construction in the Big Bend region.

Why It Matters

The current construction effort follows a pattern of resistance to border infrastructure in the region. In 2023, the Biden administration halted construction of a planned border wall near Big Bend National Park after facing similar opposition from landowners and environmental groups. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been involved in multiple legal challenges over the past decade, including a 2019 lawsuit from the Sierra Club over environmental impacts of border infrastructure and a 2021 court ruling that required CBP to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act for wall construction projects.

Legal precedents regarding land acquisition also shape the current dispute. CBP has faced repeated criticism for its use of eminent domain in the Big Bend region, with a 2022 report from the Texas Office of the Attorney General finding that the agency had not fully complied with state laws requiring notice and compensation for landowners whose property was affected. The combination of low crossing rates and high ecological value continues to drive local and political opposition to the project.

Timeline

Republicans in Congress added $46.5 billion for border wall expansion into a spending bill in 2025. On September 15, 2026, Customs and Border Protection confirmed that the first panels were erected. Also on September 15, 2026, landowners, ranchers, business owners, and a nonprofit organization sued to stop the administration’s border wall plans in the Big Bend region. The Trump administration has started building a border wall in the Big Bend region of west Texas as of September 15, 2026.

What's New

Additional reporting indicates that the No Big Bend Wall Coalition estimates that approximately 400 landowners hold title to properties with Rio Grande frontage where Customs and Border Protection is seeking construction rights. More than half of the estimated 400 landowners have joined the No Big Bend Wall Coalition to dispute the federal government’s assertion of eminent domain. Hudspeth County, Texas, is the second-largest county in the U.S. by area but has a population of less than 10,000 people, with much of its land owned by private ranchers and conservation groups, making it a focal point for disputes over federal land use and border security projects.

In 2023, the Biden administration halted construction of a planned border wall near Big Bend National Park after facing similar opposition from landowners and environmental groups, indicating a pattern of resistance to such projects in the region.

How Sources Differ

Sources differ on the specific scope of land involvement in the border protection efforts. Customs and Border Protection stated that border wall panel installation is underway in a 47-mile stretch of Hudspeth County known as Big Bend 1.