Since President Trump returned to office in January 2025, his administration has renewed efforts to erect border barriers in parts of the U.S.-Mexico border that don’t currently have any.

That includes the Big Bend region in far West Texas, home to the Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park — both of which the Trump administration has targeted for border security infrastructure.

Historically, the region has recorded the fewest illegal crossings along the entire southwest border. But the Trump administration has awarded billions of dollars worth of contracts to build some form of infrastructure to deter illegal border crossings, while telling concerned West Texas residents they will not build a border wall or fence in the national park.

Local residents, environmentalists and a bipartisan group of elected officials, including sheriffs and county judges, have still asked the administration to stop all construction.

Here’s what we know about the Trump administration’s efforts to install border security infrastructure in the Big Bend region:

What are they building in the national park?

In August, when bulldozers arrived at the park, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the crews were beginning survey and design work to build an access road and place vehicle barriers.

In an Aug. 13 statement, CBP said it is working to maintain visitor access and preserve the landscape, but that the construction is necessary for border security.

“These improvements will help our agents detect illegal crossings, respond faster, and assist visitors in danger,” CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said. “As we strengthen the border across the southwest, we will not leave Big Bend as an opening for cartels to exploit by shifting their routes and tactics.”

But after a sustained outcry by residents and anti-wall advocates, Scott announced on Aug. 17 that his agency has paused construction work in the national park while he conducts an “on-the-ground evaluation,” reversing course after heavy machinery had begun moving dirt.

“I put a pause on all activity in that park, as far as construction goes, until I can get down there and do a personal evaluation, talk to some stakeholders, talk to some local law enforcement in that area,” Scott said on social media. “More to follow this week.”

The length of the pause is unclear.

Does the Big Bend region see a lot of illegal crossings?

Although then-U.S. Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem called the Big Bend Sector “an area of high illegal entry” last year when the government waived various federal laws to begin construction, it is the least busy of all the Border Patrol sectors.

It’s also the largest Border Patrol sector, covering 77 Texas counties and 517 miles of the 1,954-mile-long U.S.-Mexico border, including the state and national parks.

CBP recorded 3,096 migrant encounters in the sector in fiscal year 2025 — that’s just 1.3% of the 237,538 apprehensions recorded across the entire U.S.-Mexico border.

Apprehensions borderwide dropped 74% last year compared to the two previous fiscal years, and Big Bend has followed that trend: In the first seven months of the current fiscal year, the sector logged 1,236 encounters, a 42.5% drop compared to the first seven months of the previous year.

Will 30-foot-tall barriers go up in the national park?

No, according to Trump administration officials, who have said they plan to install other types of deterrents, such as vehicle barriers and technology to detect illegal crossings.

“Big Bend National Park has some just, like, unbelievably huge granite cliffs. It would be kind of silly to put like a 30-foot border wall on top of a 90-foot granite cliff,” Scott said in a May interview with the Examiner. “So what we’re trying to convey is that we are going to have meaningful border security in that entire area.”

On Aug. 17, Gov. Greg Abbott, who said he’s spoken to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, said that he also was told no 30-foot-tall barriers would go in the park.

Why has there been so much confusion about this project?

CBP has repeatedly changed its plans, which the public could only see via on its website, sometimes indicating there would be a border wall in both the state and national parks.

Another reason is because the contracts that have been awarded state that they are for border barriers. Trump administration officials have previously said that plans are not final and could change depending on the needs of Border Patrol agents on the ground.

Also, landowners in the region have received letters from CBP threatening to seize some of their property through eminent domain, but many say the government won’t tell them what it plans to do with the land.

Will border barriers be installed outside of the park?

Yes, according to CBP.

On its website, CBP includes an interactive map that shows the federal government has awarded contracts to install 30-foot tall barriers on private land outside of the parks.

And a notice posted on CBP’s website in January 2026 says the federal government plans to install border walls along 175 miles across Hudspeth, Jeff Davis and Presidio counties.

Who opposes the Trump administration efforts?

The opposition has been broad and bipartisan.

Many area residents have opposed any type of border infrastructure in the area, saying it’s not needed in such a safe and isolated place. Those whose land has been targeted for seizure say they risk losing their farms, businesses and homes.

Environmentalists also oppose the federal government’s efforts, saying any type of construction in the area could disrupt the delicate desert ecosystem. Some worry about construction crews killing endangered species.

According to the National Park Service, among the species and plants that are on the endangered special list includes the black-capped vireo, Mexican long-nosed bat, Big Bend gambusia, Rio Grande silvery minnow and Chisos hedgehog cactus.

Some archaeologists, meanwhile, warn that construction crews could plow through historical sites that include many of significance to Native American and Mexican families who can trace their lineage to before the area was part of the United States or Mexico.

A bipartisan group of local elected officials have argued that the area is filled with natural barriers like soaring cliffs above the Rio Grande. County judges, mayors and sheriffs have signed letters asking Trump administration officials to meet with local leaders to explain what kind of border security efforts could benefit the region other than a wall.

The sheriffs of Brewster, Culberson, Hudspeth, Presidio and Terrell counties — a mix of Democrats and Republicans — wrote an open letter that said: “Based on decades of combined experience working with this terrain, we believe that construction of a continuous physical border wall in the Big Bend region would not represent the most practical or strategic approach to border security in this area.”

State elected officials have also asked the Trump administration to rethink its plans.

In July, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham sent a cease and desist letter to CBP and federal contractor Barnard Construction, accusing the company of illegally clearing state land in Presidio County.

On Aug. 12, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, sent a letter asking Mullin to meet with area residents before continuing with any further construction. Two days later, a bipartisan coalition of 46 state House representatives sent a letter urging Abbott to call for construction in the region to immediately cease.

What legal action have opponents taken?

On Aug. 14, the People of La Junta for Preservation, a nonprofit associated with the Lipan Apache community, and Far Flung Outdoor Center, a Terlingua business that provides guided river trips and other recreational services in the Big Bend area, sued the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies to block construction in Big Bend National Park, arguing that the project is contrary to U.S. law and threatens constitutionally protected religious freedoms.

It is the latest federal lawsuit against the Trump administration seeking to halt the federal government’s efforts to build border security infrastructure in the region.

In April, Friends of the Ruidosa Church, a preservation group in the area, the Center for Biological Diversity, a national nonprofit, and a Terlingua resident who works as a river guide also sued the Trump administration to halt border wall construction in the region.

In June, Democracy Forward, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit on behalf of Presidio Municipal Development District, an economic development organization for the city of Presidio and Presidio County, against the Trump administration to halt border wall construction.

The group argues in its lawsuit that building a wall atop existing earthen levees in Presidio could lead to dangerous floods.