BIG BEND REGION, TEXAS — U.S. Customs and Border Protection began road upgrades and property notifications in late March to advance border barrier construction in the Big Bend region of Texas, where contractors appeared at the entrance to Chispa Road to widen the rural dirt route into a highway capable of hauling 30-foot steel pillars. The activity followed a February announcement of new border wall segments in the region and updates to the agency's interactive Smart Wall Map identifying barrier sites within Big Bend National Park and nearby Big Bend Ranch State Park.

Contractors told cattle rancher Yolanda Alvarado that the upgraded road would allow semi trucks to deliver barrier components, and that her family's property lay directly along the path of the proposed wall. CBP had sent the Alvarado family a letter in February notifying them their land had been identified as a construction site.

"That fence line, that's where the wall is going to be." Alvarado said, describing what contractors had shown her. She has since spent much of her time speaking at town hall meetings and informing other landowners about the project.

"We are tied to the land here in west Texas," Alvarado said. "There is still a border wall in Big Bend. Our lives are being upended."

This part of west Texas had long been without a constructed barrier, a condition attributed to its remoteness, rugged cliffs and low rates of migrant crossings. The U.S. president has sought to fast-track border wall construction throughout the region. In March, Fisher Sand and Gravel was awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build 70 to 80 miles of border wall from Ruidosa in Presidio County to Colorado Canyon.

Linda Walker, who owns Big Bend and Lajitas Stables and offers guided horseback rides in Big Bend Ranch State Park, said the project threatens her livelihood. "It would mean the end of my business. We would never recover from a wall down here," Walker said.

Construction activity has expanded across Big Bend, including road widening, survey stakes, waivers of environmental laws and letters to landowners about construction or access. Raymond Skiles, a retired park ranger, received a 12-page letter from CBP outlining detailed plans for a physical barrier across his family's property in Langtry, Texas. The agency's map was later updated to show only detection technology on his land. "For Texas people, this kind of communication is just inexcusable," Skiles said.

In early March, CBP changed its map for Big Bend National Park from showing a physical barrier to showing detection technology. The agency has not issued a formal statement regarding its plans for the park. The map was also updated to designate a 20-acre property upriver of Big Bend Ranch State Park, previously marked for a physical barrier, for surveillance technology; the owner had not received a letter from the agency.