Big Bend border construction pause extended to Sept. 30

The pause on some of the construction in Big Bend is now extended to Sept. 30. 

On Friday, a federal court announced that work on a border security plan would be put on hold through Sept. 15; however, on Monday, lawmakers confirmed that construction on some of those projects will now remain on hold until Sept. 30. 

It comes after a lawsuit alleging the projects could restrict religious freedom and threaten businesses and archeological sites. Attorneys for the government say the claims are highly speculative; however, the U.S. government has agreed to the following:

• Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) will stop all ground disturbing activity (e.g., geotechnical work, pioneering of roads, clearing vegetation, etc.)
• CBP will continue with non-ground disturbing activity related to these projects (e.g., real estate actions (including surveys), biological and cultural surveys, etc.)
• During the pause, CBP intends to engage in additional consultation with interested stakeholders

What caused the pause on construction in Big Bend?

The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Rodney Scott, temporarily halted all work in August after uproar when bulldozers arrived at Big Bend National Park. Images of bulldozers scraping through the 801,163-acre expanse of Big Bend National Park exploded on social media, turning a construction project in one of America's most remote landscapes into a political flashpoint. 

Cattle ranchers, environmentalists, sheriffs, Republican senators and country singers united around a distinctly Texas argument: Secure the border, but don't tread on us.

Scott has repeatedly said the administration cannot afford to leave the Big Bend sector as a potential opening for cartels to exploit, particularly as new barriers and stepped-up enforcement make other stretches of the southern border more difficult to cross.

The area's remote location and rugged, unforgiving terrain have historically made it one of the more difficult areas of the border to traverse. Still, officials argue that increased enforcement in other areas could shift migration patterns and make previously less-trafficked areas more attractive.

CBP said there would be no 30-foot bollard wall through Big Bend National Park, but there would still be construction: more than 200 paved and repaved patrol roads, detection technology and roughly 17 miles of four to six-foot vehicle barriers. One federal contract tied to the work inside the park came to roughly $1.7 billion.