Border walls and new surveillance technology could be coming to the greater Big Bend region and the rest of Texas鈥� southern border as part of a sweeping plan announced by the Trump administration this month.
In a press release, the Department of Homeland Security described the plan as a system that 鈥渃ombines steel barriers, waterborne barriers, patrol roads, lights, cameras, and advanced detection technology.鈥�
shows multiple segments of the project planned for the greater Big Bend region.
Though many details remain unknown, the map alone suggests that Big Bend National Park would be spared from physical border walls. One project that would run through the entirety of BBNP is described in the map as 鈥渄etection technology鈥� and entitled 鈥淏BT Technology Only.鈥�
Meanwhile, the administration is already waiving a wide range of federal contracting regulations to speed up construction related to border security, according to recent federal regulatory notices.
In , Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote that the department had determined there is an 鈥渁cute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads鈥� in the U.S. Border Patrol鈥檚 Big Bend Sector. That sector spans a broad swath of the region, from around Sierra Blanca to Sanderson, and includes the national park. Similar notices with nearly identical language were published the same day for Border Patrol sectors across the southern border.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement Friday, after this story was first published, that in areas of the Border Patrol's Big Bend Sector "where terrain act as a natural barrier, CBP is planning to deploy alien detection technology."
鈥淭his is the first time they鈥檝e signaled any intention or started taking actions that would allow them to build walls in Big Bend, which for the longest time has just been a ridiculous idea,鈥� said Laiken Jordahl, an advocate with the environmental group Center for Biological Diversity.
In a statement, the group said the recent contracting waivers 鈥渄ismantle the checks and balances that normally govern how public money is spent and how major federal projects are scrutinized.鈥�
鈥淯nlike past waivers which largely bypassed environmental and cultural heritage laws, these waivers are unprecedented both in the comprehensive suite of procurement laws and in geography across the entire southern border,鈥� the advocacy group wrote.
The notice regarding the Big Bend region describes it as an 鈥渁rea of high illegal entry,鈥� despite the fact that, historically, this rugged and remote desert region has seen among the lowest levels of smuggling activity along the U.S. border with Mexico.
Illegal crossings and smuggling activity in the Big Bend 鈥� and the 鈥� have plummeted amid the Trump administration鈥檚 border security crackdown. Over the past year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has around 2,900 migrant 鈥渆ncounters鈥� and about 9,100 lbs. of drug seizures in the Big Bend region, compared to almost 32,000 encounters and 29,300 lbs. of drug seizures in 2022.
Still, the department鈥檚 regulatory notice said the push to build border barriers and roads in the region is warranted under a from President Trump. That order directs the Homeland Security and Defense Department secretaries to 鈥渢ake all appropriate action鈥� to 鈥渆nsure complete operational control鈥� of the border.
It鈥檚 not clear where exactly the administration is planning to build walls or roads in the region.
Multiple federal agencies declined to comment on the plan. An Interior Department spokesperson told Marfa Public Radio the National Park Service is 鈥渁ware鈥� of the recent regulatory notice, but referred questions to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. A CBP spokesperson referred questions to the DHS, which did not respond to multiple inquiries.
Were the Trump administration to actually move forward with the construction of walls and other physical barriers in the Big Bend area, it would mark a notable shift in border politics.
For years, politicians across the political spectrum have that wall building would be unnecessary or inappropriate in the Big Bend area, a popular Texas tourism region where much of the Rio Grande travels through steep canyons already lined on either side by steep rock walls.
In 2016, shortly after President Trump was first elected, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott acknowledged there are parts of the southern border where a wall would be 鈥渆xtremely challenging to build鈥� and said specifically that he didn鈥檛 want to see a wall built in Big Bend National Park, In 2017, a local Border Patrol union leader he was more interested in seeing additional manpower than physical barriers.
A spokesperson for Abbott did not respond to a request for comment.
Few people are more intimately familiar with the Rio Grande鈥檚 stretches through the Big Bend than Greg Henington, a longtime local river guide and the top elected official in Brewster County, which is home to the national park.
In an interview, Henington said he had not yet heard about this month鈥檚 regulatory notice and described it as something 鈥渙ut of the blue.鈥�
Henington said it would not make sense to build a wall in the area given its rugged terrain, adding that he thinks other areas would be 鈥渕uch higher priority than us.鈥�
鈥淲ho wants to come through Big Bend? No water, mountain ranges, why would you do that when you can walk right into Arizona,鈥� he said. 鈥淚'm remaining cautiously optimistic that our tourism economy will continue to be strong 鈥� the place that people will come to and not find a wall.鈥�
Mary Cantrell contributed reporting.
This story has been updated.
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