Construction of “patrol roads” and “border barriers” has been halted in Big Bend National Park while US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Rodney Scott meets with local officials on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, to hear their opposition to the project.
Scott announced the construction pause shortly after arriving in Texas from Washington, DC on Monday, August 17:
Governor Greg Abbott, who had not commented on the Big Bend border construction controversy as opposition from both Republican and Democratic state and local leaders grew this month, was quick to claim credit for the temporary construction “pause” during an appearance in Waco Monday.
“I was told by the secretary that there would be no construction of any type of barrier in Big Bend National Park,” Abbott said. He told the Texas Tribune that Scott’s announcement on Monday “seems to be a consequence of my conversation with the secretary this weekend.”
Texas GOP Land Commissioner Dr. Dawn Buckingham has already ordered a halt to unauthorized border barrier construction on state land in the Big Bend.
A bipartisan group of Texas Border Sheriffs as well as all County Judges along the Texas border with Mexico are also on record as opposing the Big Bend Border Barriers.
Senator John Cornyn and West Texas Congressional candidate Brandon Herrera are among the GOP politicians expressing concerns or opposition to the project, along with Democratic Senate Candidate James Talarico (and many other Texas Democratic state and local politicians).
Retired Border Patrol Agent turned West Texas Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland - a friend of CBP Commissioner Scott - since their days serving in the Border Patrol almost 30 years ago, told the Texas Tribune that Border Sheriffs from Terrell, Brewster, Hudspeth and Jeff Davis Counties are meeting with the CBP Commissioner in Alpine, Texas Tuesday afternoon.
The Big Bend Border Patrol Sector encounters the lowest numbers - by far - of illegal crossings along the entire US Southern Border (despite being the largest sector). Those opposing the border barriers argue that the terrain itself (high cliffs rising on both sides of the Rio Grande and a dangerous Chihuahuan Desert landscape devoid of water) constitutes “God-given barriers” to illegal crossings, making this multi-billion dollar project a taxpayer boondoggle.
Whether Commissioner Scott (and the rest of the Trump Administration) agrees remains an open question. For now, the bulldozers and other heavy equipment remain idle.
Do you support construction of “Border Barriers” and “Patrol Roads” in the Big Bend area of West Texas?
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Abrazos,
Jack Beavers
