Posted on 08/17/2026 3:27:09 PM PDT by Miami Rebel
President Donald Trump’s administration announced Monday that it is pausing all border construction in Big Bend National Park following bipartisan backlash over the project’s potential impact on the West Texas wilderness.
CBP is pausing all construction activity in Big Bend National Park while I visit and conduct a personal, on-the-ground evaluation.
CBP is firmly committed to protecting America, and that includes our national treasures like Big Bend National Park (BBNP). We know the current and… pic.twitter.com/UkmzvTluwH
— CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott (@CBPCommissioner) August 17, 2026
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott announced the halt, adding he had just landed in Texas to travel to the park for an “on-the-ground evaluation” and to meet with folks there before determining how to proceed.
His full message read:
CBP is pausing all construction activity in Big Bend National Park while I visit and conduct a personal, on-the-ground evaluation.
CBP is firmly committed to protecting America, and that includes our national treasures like Big Bend National Park (BBNP). We know the current and predictable national security threats and they are real. Now over the next couple of days, I will join a small team to evaluate the terrain and listen to local leadership, community members and stakeholders to ensure that we secure our borders while simultaneously protecting BBNP for generations to come.
The construction is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to expand security infrastructure along the U.S.-Mexico border. Crews began clearing land inside the national park earlier this month for a new Border Patrol access road, with plans also calling for vehicle barriers and detection technology along portions of the border.
The work quickly drew concerns over its potential environmental impact, particularly because construction was taking place near Santa Elena Canyon and habitat designated as critical for the threatened yellow-billed cuckoo. The Department of Homeland Security also waived compliance with dozens of federal laws, including the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, to allow the project to move forward.
Among those raising objections was Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin last week urging the administration to address the environmental concerns. His statement drew applause from those on the other side of the aisle, including Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico, who said, “I applaud Senator Cornyn for taking action on this corrupt Big Bend Border Wall.”
Not to mention, the two candidates running to replace former Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), Republican Brandon Herrera and Democrat Katy Padilla Stout, have long opposed the project as well. Texas State Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D) is also serving as an attorney in a lawsuit filed Friday seeking to halt the project over concerns that construction could damage archaeological sites and areas sacred to indigenous communities.
Ryan Chandler, a correspondent for NBC News, wrote of Scott’s Monday video, “Notably conciliatory tone here and I would say a testament to the real impact public pressure has had. Welcome to Texas, sir.”
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Gotta get Paxton and Abbot across the finish line if Trump has any hopes of retaining the Senate and keeping Texas red.
That's pretty rough terrain - there are/were easier crossings.
If the border isn’t secured, Mexico will build a superhighway and probably a railroad to the area, throw a bridge across, and connect to the nearest major highway on the U.S. side.
The democrats and environmentalists will not raise an objection.
A wall might not be the only option. Anti-personnel mines and drones with lethal armaments might work.
Or we could demand that Mexico establish a militarized zone on its side of the river. We can do it ourselves if Mexico won’t.
the irony is that the roads being built in order to build the wall actually help those who are crossing illegally.
before it was just a 100+ miles of desert and nothing, now they can simply for the road. Still a long walk, but at least they are not wondering amlessly
Been there a couple of times. It is rugged . . . and parts of it are beautiful.
My opinion is that a border fence is a necessary addition to some of the wide open areas along the border. The beautiful and dramatic areas can otherwise be left alone and patroled by Border Patrol. Just getting to Big Bend from the Mexican interior will be a chore. (Heck, driving my motorcycle from Oklahoma was hard enough!)
Fake News. Fake Headline.
Once again the article totally contradicts the headline.
Construction was halted to allow a photo op. That’s all.
Build the wall
Build it tall
When in doubt
Make it stout!
Have Trump or Rodney Scott ever been to Big Bend?
.
Yeah, just because the fag rented an apartment, Ft. Worth I think, is in no way implying that it is "from Texas."
As seen on: NBC News, MSN, Yahoo News, Aol, Yahoo Finance, Flipboard, Yahoo, NewsNation, KTLA-TV (Los Angeles, CA), KDVR-TV (Denver, CO)
That is one queer looking prog.
Is he good friends with Talagayco?
.
Same - it’s gorgeous.
Never visited it from the Mexican side of things, but it’s not like the landscape of canyons/mountains/scrub/desert stops at the border — the Rio Grande basically splits the broader area in half.
Hell, I’m only half joking but if you can manage to trek across that? I’m inclined to provide a hated pathway to citizenship. The world needs marathon runners, wide receivers, and anybody who can walk punishing terrain and live.
Better talk with Eric Erickson. Seems he’s determined to damage these candidates and throw the election. Had a bad review of JD too. With friends like him we don’t need enemies.
President Donald Trump’s administration announced Monday that it is pausing all border construction in Big Bend National Park following bipartisan backlash over the project’s potential impact on the West Texas wilderness.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxx
So, what’s up with this beaubo
AND AGAIN, TRUMP DISAPPOINTS...
Build the damn wall. That’s one of the most prominent drug smuggling areas. Dims must be afraid of losing their share.
Of course Cornyn objected to the border enforcement measures. It’s not enough that we fired him, can we please just tie him behind the truck and drag him already? This clown can’t get gone soon enough.
yellow-billed cuckoo?..............
It is true that there is opposition to bollard barriers in Big Bend among many local Republican voters (“Don’t fence me in” and “Don’t fence the West” have long been cowboy values). But even they mostly support the monitoring technology and access roads.
It is also true that due to it’s remoteness, Big Bend is a very low priority sector, with very little illegal traffic.
There has been back and forth on the plans there all this year.
The funds for the original design (itself not even completely walling the whole huge remote area off with bollard) have been appropriated, and contracts awarded. Some direction to the contractors has delayed/rescheduled some tasks, for the convenience of the Government, while they have continued work on others, like the road. There would be some additional cost to complete the suspended tasks, but it is far from a showstopper. The whole Program is below budget, and they can well afford such minor delays.
I am not worried about potential revisions or delays in the bollard plan there, because it is of such low priority for Operational Control of the border, and it’s defensibility is being strengthened in the mean time through other enhancements.
The big picture is a massive infrastructure Program to gain Full Operational Control of the Southern Border, fully funded and ahead of schedule.
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