Bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers critical over new border wall Big Bend region construction
Construction is underway in the Big Bend region of Texas amid public concern, following months of rumors.
Residents in the area first reported contractors with heavy machinery moving into the area in early August. Video and pictures taken by Terlingua resident Natalie Newman and shared widely on social media show bulldozers clearing brush in Big Bend National Park near Santa Elena Canyon, one of the park's most recognizable and visited spots.
The crews are working for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which says this video shows them doing survey and design work. CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said in a statement that they are working to preserve the landscape and protect the access that visitors and local businesses depend on.
"Big Bend belongs to the American people, and our job is to keep it safe. So, let's be clear about what is - and is not - happening there. CBP is building one new access road, improving existing roads, installing detection technology, and placing vehicle barriers in limited, strategic locations. We are NOT building a 30-foot wall or stadium lighting through Big Bend National Park, Big Bend Ranch State Park, or the Black Gap Wildlife Management Area," Scott said.
Even so, concerned residents gathered at Big Bend National Park last week to protest the Trump administration's actions.
Also, last week, Sen. John Cornyn sent a letter to the Secretary of Homeland Security, asking him to meet with Texas stakeholders before any additional construction takes place within Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park.
CBS News Texas spoke with residents in the area who are upset about what's happening.
"The roadways they want to put in require almost as much destruction as would be necessary to put in a vertical wall, especially some of the areas that they've proposed putting the roads," said Natalie Newman, a Terlingua resident whose video of construction crews was shared widely on social media.
"I'm glad Cornyn is doing what a true Texan should do, especially one who's elected to his office. Stand up for the rights of the landowners in the state, and stand up for the parks that are America's playground, our playground," said Charlie Angell, who runs a business as a river guide.
Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Democrat from El Paso, also spoke out against the construction work in an interview for Eye On Politics.
"It is such a tragedy, honestly, to see such a beautiful national treasure being bulldozed, literally bulldozed," Escobar said. "And what is happening is the Trump administration believes it can do absolutely anything that it wants to in the name of border security. And that is not the case. That is not what Congress intended, and it shows an extreme disrespect for the communities impacted."
Escobar also said that state officials could try to intervene, but have not done so.
"[Gov. Greg Abbott] has long challenged the federal government when it comes to Texas sovereignty," she said. "Ken Paxton, the attorney general, who is now running for U.S. Senate, he has the power right now to stop it, to sue the federal government, but we see Republicans at every level of government simply acquiescing to whatever Donald Trump wants."
"Every community along the U.S.-Mexico border wants border security. But we also, at the same time, know there are different ways to secure the border, and bulldozing through national treasures is not necessary, and it's incredibly harmful and permanent," Escobar said.
Abbott's office has not responded to a request for comment.
Republican state Rep. Wes Virdell, from Brady in Central Texas, agrees that construction in the Big Bend region is unnecessary. He joined two other Republican state lawmakers and 40 Democrats in urging Abbott to ask the federal government to end demolition and construction.
"You can take the technology that we have right now, like the blimps and the thermal and everything else, and watch that border, because our border crossings are very low in that area. Now, you get to Eagle Pass, Laredo, Del Rio, and El Paso. You have a high traffic of people trying to cross the border. You get to Big Bend, where, super rugged terrain, and it really kind of works as a natural barrier, you don't have that issue. So I think it's really a bad idea to destroy such a wonderful natural habitat. It's also going to kill tourism down there. Tourism is huge, and people that depend on the river for that tourism are going to be affected by it," Virdell told Eye On Politics.
When asked why most Republicans are not speaking out about this issue, Virdell said, "I've been warned that if I take this position, I'm going to be accused of being an open border politician, which is not true at all."
"I believe in the border where it's necessary, and I don't see the blowback that people are fearing is going to happen. And I think we have a moral duty, Republican or Democrat, to stand up and do what's right, regardless of politics," he said.
In a statement to CBS News Texas, Governor Abbott's Press Secretary Andrew Mahaleris said, "Rugged, isolated areas like Big Bend are great opportunities to deploy technology to aid in securing the border."
Republican U.S. Rep. Pat Fallon of the 4th Congressional District, which extends from Collin County to east Texas, told Eye On Politics he supports the Trump administration's efforts in the region where illegal border crossings have been higher along the U.S. southern border in the past.
"Border security is a national security issue, and I'm with the president and lockstep on this because he's been wildly successful with the border," Fallon said. "I was looking at some of the bad old days under the Biden administration when you had month over month, over 200,000 illegal border crossings. We hadn't had that in 25 years. And Joe Biden had 28 months of it, which is insane."