Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• CBP initiates easement discussions with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for border wall access — CBP began discussions with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in February to obtain easement rights at three parks, including Big Bend Ranch State Park. The agency later informed TPWD in March that the plans had been put on hold, according to records obtained by Inside Climate News.
• CBP notifies Big Bend landowners of border wall construction plans — In late February/early March 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection sent letters to landowners in the Big Bend region, including Yolanda Alvarado and Raymond Skiles, notifying them that their properties had been identified for border wall construction. Skiles received a detailed 12-page letter outlining plans for a physical barrier across his property in Langtry, Texas. The notifications triggered immediate anxiety and uncertainty among residents, many of whom had received no prior public consultation or opportunity for input.
• CBP updates border wall map to include steel bollard wall through Big Bend parks — Customs and Border Protection updated its online map to show plans for a steel bollard wall through portions of Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park. The same month, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem waived environmental and historic protection laws to accelerate wall construction through CBP's Big Bend sector, a 500-mile stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border in west Texas.
• Trump administration fast-tracks border wall construction through Big Bend National Park and surrounding lands in Texas — The Trump administration is accelerating border wall construction in the Big Bend region of west Texas, including through Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park. In February 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) updated its Smart Wall Map to designate a "primary border wall system" within these protected areas. Fisher Sand and Gravel was awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build 70–80 miles of wall. Construction activity has begun: roads are being widened, survey stakes placed, environmental laws waived, and landowners notified. Though CBP quietly changed the national park designation from physical barrier to "detection technology" in early March, construction continues across the region with no formal public statement or congressional approval process.
• DHS waives environmental and historic preservation laws for Big Bend National Park border wall construction — In February 2026, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem waived federal laws related to wildlife protection, historic preservation, and environmental protection to construct a border wall through Big Bend National Park in Texas. The park, larger than Rhode Island, receives only about 1 percent of unauthorized border crossings. The federal government has allotted $1.72 billion for the project, which will include steel walls, hundreds of miles of new roads, and vehicle barriers. Local officials and former park staff have characterized the project as unnecessary and a violation of the agreement under which the park was established.