Federal contractors have begun clearing ground inside Big Bend National Park near Santa Elena Canyon as part of the $1.7 billion border security build-out, with CBP saying the work is survey and design - not a wall through the park.
Federal contractors have moved heavy equipment into Big Bend National Park, clearing ground near the mouth of the iconic Santa Elena Canyon as part of the Trump administration's border security build-out on the Texas-Mexico border. New footage captured this week shows bulldozers plowing earth in one of the most visited stretches of the Lone Star State's largest national park.
The work is part of a $1.7 billion contract awarded to Southwest Valley Constructors of New Mexico, which is constructing patrol roads, vehicle barriers and surveillance infrastructure across the roughly 500-mile Big Bend region. Customs and Border Protection officials say the effort is designed to secure remote stretches of the border that have become a magnet for cartel activity.
The administration's original proposal for the region called for 30-foot walls along the Rio Grande floodplain. After widespread pushback from park users and local communities, officials scaled the plan back significantly.
Under the revised approach, contractors will build about 200 miles of new patrol roads and four sections of non-contiguous vehicle barriers standing roughly 6 feet tall, totaling about 17 miles. The rest of the effort relies on cameras, sensors and other detection technology rather than physical walls, according to Customs and Border Protection.
The project is funded through the One Big Beautiful Bill, which appropriated $46.5 billion for new border wall construction nationwide. Staging sites have been set up across rural West Texas, with steel panels and heavy machinery being hauled down two-lane roads ahead of full construction.
Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott pushed back on claims that the agency is bulldozing a wall through the park, saying the heavy equipment is conducting survey and design work for the limited infrastructure projects.
"What people are seeing right now is survey and design work - NOT construction of a wall through the park," Scott said. "We are working to preserve the landscape and protect the access visitors and local businesses depend on."
Scott said the infrastructure is needed to keep the park "free from fear of cartel activity" and to help agents detect illegal crossings, respond faster and assist visitors in danger. The agency initially said the bulldozers were re-grading roads damaged by heavy rains, then clarified that crews were turning up ground to assess soil for construction.
To speed the work, the Department of Homeland Security waived dozens of federal environmental and cultural protection laws, including the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. The agency has also agreed to provide at least 30 days' notice before ground-disturbing activities begin in Big Bend National Park or Big Bend Ranch State Park.
The build-out faces mounting legal opposition. On Friday, a tribal nonprofit and two Lipan Apache worshippers sued the federal government in San Antonio, arguing the construction and surveying activities cut them off from sacred sites in violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the American Indian Religious Freedom Act. An outdoor recreation company filed a separate challenge the same day.
The Center for Biological Diversity, which has sued both the Biden and Trump administrations over border wall construction, said the footage from Santa Elena Canyon shows a brand new road being carved through one of the park's most beloved areas. Public lands advocate Laiken Jordahl called the sight "devastating."
Despite the opposition, a federal judge this month declined to block construction. Some criticism has come from both sides of the aisle, though supporters of the project note that the scaled-back design preserves the park's character while closing off access routes used by smugglers and cartel operatives.
With ground prep underway and the $1.7 billion contract in place, full construction of patrol roads and vehicle barriers is expected to ramp up in the coming months. The new lawsuits filed Friday could test whether religious freedom claims can halt work in the park, though courts have so far allowed the project to proceed.
For park visitors, the immediate impact is limited to the staging areas and construction zones near Santa Elena Canyon. Officials say the completed project will pair physical barriers with a network of cameras and sensors designed to give Border Patrol agents eyes on one of the most remote stretches of the southern border.
Federal contractors have begun clearing ground inside Big Bend National Park near Santa Elena Canyon as part of the $1.7 billion border security build-out, with CBP saying the work is survey and design - not a wall through the park.
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