{"id":410,"date":"2026-06-12T16:10:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T16:10:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=410"},"modified":"2026-06-12T16:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T16:10:49","slug":"trump-made-it-easier-to-build-a-wall-through-big-bend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=410","title":{"rendered":"Trump Made It Easier to Build a Wall Through Big Bend"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Trump administration is rolling back environmental protections that would allow it to quickly construct a physical barrier across Big Bend National Park.<\/p>\n

Read more Ex-Rep. Devin Nunes and the Mystery of His $14.5 Million War Chest<\/a><\/p>\n

The administration has said<\/u><\/span> that the president\u2019s long-promised border wall would not include a physical wall in Big Bend National Park. But skeptics see a notice<\/u><\/span> that the Department of Homeland Security published on the Federal Register earlier this week, waiving more than two dozen historic and environmental preservation laws, as a sign it might do so anyway.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been to Big Bend, and I want to protect that area,\u201d Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), who introduced a proposal<\/u><\/span> to ban a border wall in the national park earlier this week, told NOTUS. \u201cIt\u2019s a state and national treasure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Building a border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border was a central part of President Donald Trump\u2019s first campaign, pitched as an effort to prevent and deter undocumented immigrants from entering the country. Environmental advocates have worried that in the Big Bend region, which encompasses both the national park and Big Bend State Park, a physical wall or other changes could be harmful to the natural landscape.<\/p>\n

Despite the administration\u2019s promises, some advocates and lawmakers have long been on edge about what Trump\u2019s promised southern border wall would look like near the parks. In an online map, Customs and Border Protection originally designated a \u201ctechnology only\u201d wall for the part of the southern border that included Big Bend National Park, Marfa Public Radio reported in February<\/u><\/span>. But then, CBP updated the map to show a \u201cprimary border wall system\u201d along parts of the National Park as well, sparking concern from lawmakers and advocates. <\/p>\n

There was enough pushback that CBP said<\/u><\/span> the agency would only use technology and pave roads in the park instead of building a physical wall. In a to lawmakers on May 21, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott wrote that lighting would not be installed, and that border security measures would include \u201ccameras and sensors, along with a limited number of low-profile vehicle barriers and patrol roads.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the meantime, CBP awarded a $1.7 billion contract<\/u><\/span> on May 11 for a \u201cborder wall in Big Bend, Texas\u201d fueling concerns over what the agency\u2019s plans were for the park.<\/p>\n

The latest notice in the Federal Register posted by DHS has advocates fretting that CBP might be changing its plans once again, or leaving the door open to doing so.<\/p>\n

Cuellar said he sees the waivers as an effort to shield the administration from future litigation. He said that he pushed for an exception banning a border wall in Big Bend National Park when CBP said it wouldn\u2019t build a physical wall but use vehicle barriers and technology instead. But in committee, Republicans rejected the effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost everything we would say they were all an automatic no, no, no, no,\u201d Cuellar said.<\/p>\n

Bob Krumenaker, who served as the superintendent of Big Bend National Park for five years and now serves as the chair of Keep Big Bend Wild, an organization dedicated to protecting the undeveloped parts of the National Park, told NOTUS that because of the terrain of the park, including the desert, the park already has very few border-crossings.<\/p>\n

To Krumenaker, waiving the environmental and historic preservation laws essentially \u201celiminates all control and all accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBy waiving the laws, their words of \u2018we care, we will be very careful,\u2019 we don\u2019t know if they have any meaning at all, because there\u2019s absolutely no legal constraint on them at this point,\u201d Kreumaker said. \u201cSo even if they say, \u2018We\u2019ll do environmental reviews, we will build whatever but we will do it in this location,\u2019 they can change their mind, or the contractors can do anything they want to, anything they want to, and there\u2019s no repercussions of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas told NOTUS on Thursday that although his office had been in communication with the administration, he\u2019s uncertain what the exact plans are for the region, but he\u2019s trying to get more information.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been talking to the administration and local officials and stakeholders, and I\u2019m unclear,\u201d Cornyn said. \u201cI thought they had an agreement not to build fencing on 3,000-foot cliffs, and then I\u2019ve seen some information lately which makes me doubt that\u2019s a done deal, so I\u2019m a little unclear on where it stands and what their intentions are, but we\u2019re going to reach out to the administration, trying to get some clarity on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more How Senate Democrats Got Their Mojo Back<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cTechnology can do a lot,\u201d Cornyn said. \u201cYou\u2019re literally [talking about] 3,000-foot cliffs. You look down over the cliff, hopefully in a helicopter, and it\u2019s the Rio Grande down there with wild horses, and nobody\u2019s coming over that.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement to NOTUS, a spokesperson for CBP reiterated priorities for a \u201cnew border wall and detection technology\u201d in the Big Bend sector, but also said that the efforts would be in the \u201careas adjacent\u201d both to the National Park and the state park.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile there are priorities for new border wall and detection technology in USBP\u2019s Big Bend Sector, the combination of barriers, roads, and technology (cameras, infrared illuminators, and other detection technology) in the areas adjacent to the Big Bend National Park and State Park are still in the planning stages, while CBP focuses on other higher priority locations,\u201d the spokesperson wrote.<\/p>\n

The National Park Service did not respond to NOTUS\u2019 request for comment. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department referred NOTUS to DHS.<\/p>\n

The park does not have a congressional representative, as it\u2019s part of Texas\u2019 23rd District, which is currently vacant. The seat was previously held by Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales, who resigned<\/u><\/span> from Congress in April after he admitted to having an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all have to step up, because Big Bend is for every American, for every Texan,\u201d Rep. Greg Casar told NOTUS. \u201cI think the vacancy in that district means that each and every one of us in the Texas delegation has to speak up because this just shouldn\u2019t be a partisan one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some Texas lawmakers have done so. On Wednesday, the proposed ban on a border wall at Big Bend National Park, introduced by Cuellar, failed in the House Appropriations Committee after all the Republican members voted against it, the Texas Tribune reported<\/u><\/span>. Earlier this year, Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggettand other Democrats wrote a urging CBP to abandon its plans for the park and to consult with local groups ahead of any efforts.<\/p>\n

Doggett said that waiving the environmental regulations could lead to \u201cirreparable damage.\u201d Doggett said his Republican colleagues on the House Appropriations Committee had \u201cbent their knee to Trump, voting for this devastating construction.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter Trump\u2019s contractors tear up the area and displace wildlife, the Big Bend wilderness can never be fully restored,\u201d Doggett wrote in a statement to NOTUS. \u201cDespite months of bipartisan opposition, all elected Texas Republicans have remained stone-silent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some lawmakers defended the Trump administration\u2019s approach to the region.<\/p>\n

Republican Rep. Roger Williams told NOTUS that he \u201ctrust[s] this administration from an environmental standpoint.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked whether he believed there should be a physical border wall through Big Bend, Sen. Ted Cruz said that while a wall is \u201ccritically important, it\u2019s not always necessitated based on geography.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why the administration is working cooperatively with state and local officials,\u201d Cruz added.<\/p>\n

In a hearing in the House Committee on Homeland Security last week, DHS Sec. Markwayne Mullin said all contracts for the primary border wall would be awarded by the end of June, and it would be completed in approximately one year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re on track to have the primary wall completed from the Pacific to Gulf of America this time next year,\u201d DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin told lawmakers. \u201cWe\u2019ll have all contracts out by the end of this month. We\u2019re having great progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more How the UFC Went from \u2018Human Cockfighting\u2019 to the White House Lawn<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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