BIG BEND — A lawsuit was filed on Wednesday against the Trump administration by an economic development organization representing Presidio and Presidio County. Democracy Forward, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., filed the lawsuit in a federal court in Washington, D.C., on behalf of the Presidio Municipal Development District.

The Presidio Municipal Development District advocates for local economic development and has a board appointed by the city of Presidio. The lawsuit alleges that the Trump administration did not seek permission from the Secretary of the Army to construct border barriers along the Presidio Flood Control Project, which is a levee system and boundary line built and managed by the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission. Court filings claim that installing 30-foot steel bollards embedded in a concrete base on the earthen slope of existing levees could increase flood risk. Earthen levees in the region provided protection during inundation events in 1978 and 2008.

Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, said, "Construction on the federal flood-control works in Presidio could compromise their integrity and leave the region vulnerable to deadly flash floods capable of destroying infrastructure, homes, farmland, and agriculture." She said, "That means real harm to real people in the area." She added, "Democracy Forward is honored to hold the government accountable as it recklessly pushes forward with its unlawful border wall construction."

The Trump administration stated its intention to close gaps along the U.S.-Mexico border, including in the Big Bend region, which contains canyons and mountains. The administration also plans to install sensors and vehicle barriers within Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park. Political opposition to the proposed border barriers in the Big Bend region has come from members of both major political parties.

The Big Bend Border Patrol sector covers 77 Texas counties along 517 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection recorded 3,096 migrant encounters in the Big Bend sector in fiscal year 2025. This encounter count represented 1.3 percent of the 237,538 apprehensions recorded nationwide along the border in the same fiscal year. Migrant encounters in the sector decreased by 74 percent in that year compared to the previous two fiscal years, with 1,236 encounters in the first seven months of the current fiscal year, a 42.5 percent decrease from the same period in the prior year. A CBP spokesperson said the administration is currently in the planning stages regarding the placement of border barriers and technology in the Big Bend region. The administration sent correspondence to private landowners along the Rio Grande requesting permission to survey property or warning of potential eminent domain actions.