(The Center Square) – As Congress remains at an impasse over fully funding Department of Homeland Security operations, including not funding TSA leaving airports and travelers in the lurch, Texans are proposing one area to cut funding.
More than 130 groups representing thousands of Texans have called on Congress to cut funding for planned border wall construction in the Big Bend region of Texas.
This is after DHS informed Texans it plans to use eminent domain to take their land if they don’t agree to voluntarily sell it for border barrier construction, The Center Square reported. It also published a fact sheet describing 175 miles of border barriers to be built in Hudspeth, Jeff Davis and Presidio counties and distributed it to residents.
After widespread opposition, DHS changed versions of its proposal in an online map appearing to indicate construction wouldn’t occur there. A DHS spokesperson also told local media that construction “was in the planning stages.”
According to DHS, more than $3 billion of legally obligated funds have been awarded to at least two companies to build a border wall and barrier system in the region with project start dates of March 5. Projects are in the works with Terlingua and Sierra Blanca as stated places of construction, slated to go through 2028, according to the contracts.
Opposition is widespread, among Republicans and Democrats, who say they support law enforcement and border security. They argue building a border wall through state and federal parks isn’t a solution and will destroy land that’s been preserved for centuries.
They argue that outgoing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem waived dozens of federal and state laws to fast-track construction, the damage of which, if allowed, could be irreversible. She eliminated all protections for migratory birds and other animals unique to the region, national historic preservation and Native American grave protections, eliminated clean air and water and energy independence protections as well as protections for the American Eagle, they claim.
“On Behalf of our 132 organizations, businesses, and millions of members and supporters nationwide, we urge all appropriations leaders to include language in any Department of Homeland security appropriation bills to prohibit any federal funding from being used for physical border barrier construction within bending National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park in Texas. Building a border wall through one of the nation’s crown jewel national parks and Texas’ largest state park would be wholly unprecedented, and the resulting damage to public recreation, wildlife, rural economies, cultural resources, and the integrity of our national heritage would be irreversible,” the groups wrote the leaders of the U.S. Senate and House committees on Appropriations and Homeland Security.
Both parks preserve more than 1.1 million acres of public land, including thousands of years of archaeological and Native American cultural history. The parks are major destinations “for public access and recreation including world class whitewater boating, backcountry hiking and backpacking, bird and wildlife watching, fishing and primitive off road vehicle travel,” they add.
In 2024, Big Bend National Park reported nearly 562,000 visitors who spent an estimated nearly $57 million in surrounding communities and generated nearly $64 million in total economic output. In rural Brewster County, the economy is nearly entirely dependent on ecotourism and park visitors. The DHS plan would destroy the local economy, they argue.
The No Big Bend Wall community coalition points to a GAO report that found previous border wall construction in other areas damaged cultural sites and tribal burials, disrupted wildlife movement and endangered species habitat, altered natural water flow, contributed to flooding, damaged artesian wells and groundwater systems, among other impacts.
Isaac Saul, a landowner in Brewster County who has been documenting potential impacts and bipartisan opposition, said building a border wall won’t deter illegal border crossers in the region. “Border crossers aren’t going to be more dissuaded by a 30-foot wall than the thousand-foot sheer cliffs that already litter the Mexican landscape south of the Rio Grande River,” he said, affirming sentiments of Texas border sheriffs.
National Parks Conservation Association Texas Regional Director Cary Dupuy says that federal and state parks have corresponding protected areas on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande River. They are “of bi-national interest and must be managed accordingly. Dividing this pristine, irreplaceable desert would force residents and resource stewards to manage one side of the river at a time. Wildlife and communities on both sides of the wall would suffer, and nobody would be the winner here.”
She also reiterates what Texas sheriffs have argued: “Big Bend is no place for a border wall. Harsh desert conditions and unforgiving mountain terrain already form natural barriers that discourage unsanctioned border crossings.” She agrees with Terrell County Sheriff Thad Cleveland that detection technology is a better alternative to help Border Patrol already working in the region. “Building a wall here makes no logistical sense … We need to look for border solutions that are as unique as our landscapes and communities. And we must ensure the solutions we find don’t destroy the national treasures we’ve committed to protecting.”
