Plans for steel barriers, roads in Texas' Big Bend National Park draws fury

DALLAS - The Trump administration plans to build steel barriers in Texas' Big Bend National Park, infuriating park advocates and lawmakers who say the project will devastate the park.

In a public letter Thursday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection detailed the plans for 17 miles of barriers and patrol roads to prevent off-road vehicles from crossing the border. The barriers, spaced 4 feet apart, will each rise 4 to 6 feet tall and be supported by a continuous cross beam.

A spokesperson for the agency confirmed the plans for the barriers to The Dallas Morning News.

An additional 205 miles of the U.S. Southern border will be outfitted with surveillance technology that could include lights, cameras and sensors, according to the letter.

In a letter filed in the Federal Register, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin wrote there is "an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads" to prevent illegal entry into the United States.

To expedite construction, the homeland security department waived 28 laws and regulations meant to protect clean air and water, migratory birds, endangered species and Native American gravesites, according to the filing in the register.

The administration for now appears to have scrapped a separate project to build a 30-foot border wall in the park following a bipartisan outcry, but park supporters assailed plans for barriers and roads.

Seven former park leaders told the Trump administration in a letter last month that barriers and roads would "irreparably damage" the park's "plants, animals and iconic desert beauty."

"The landscape would be altered forever for minimal improvements to security, if any," the former superintendents wrote.

The Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit conservation group, accused the administration of "militarizing the border" and said installation of barriers and roads would harm campgrounds, hiking trails, scenic overlooks and river access points.

"These horrific plans are an affront to the millions of Americans who treasure Big Bend," said Laiken Jordahl, national public lands advocate for the center. "Politicians who've never set foot here are signing a death warrant for this wild and beautiful place."

In May, the homeland security department awarded a $1.7 billion contract for border work through the Big Bend region, which includes the barriers.

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Laredo Democrat, tried this week to block the construction of barriers in the park, but the bill died along party lines in the House Appropriations Committee.

Big Bend sees fewer border crossings compared with other parts of Texas because of its harsh desert climate and rugged terrain. In fiscal year 2025, the 517-mile Big Bend Sector recorded 3,096 apprehensions of migrants, accounting for 1.3% of the total 237,538 apprehensions across the entire U.S.-Mexico border, according to Customs and Border protection data.

One of the country's largest and most remote national parks, Big Bend is home to the Chisos Mountains and Chihuahuan Desert and is considered to have some of the darkest skies in the continental U.S. The park spans more than 800,000 acres, making it larger than the state of Rhode Island. Roughly 568,000 people visited the park in 2025.

President Donald Trump made building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border a centerpiece of his first term. His second term shifted to sweeping mass deportations and arrests, but Congress last year allocated $46 million to complete a wall.

Customs and Border Protection is accepting public comments on the plan for barriers and roads through July 13.

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This story was originally published June 11, 2026 at 4:17 PM.