President Donald Trump’s border wall plans have suffered a major setback in West Texas, where fierce local opposition has forced federal officials to scale back construction across a vast stretch of the Big Bend region.
Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who left the post this month, had pushed for 500 miles of border wall near Big Bend National Park in Texas—a plan that reportedly conflicted with Border Patrol’s own strategy for securing the area, according to a report in the Washington Examiner.
The new stretch of wall was first proposed on the same day Renee Good was killed on January 7.
But what was once expected to include barriers along much of the 517-mile Big Bend sector has now reportedly been cut to roughly 175 miles after sustained blowback from residents, local officials, and landowners.
Locals oppose the construction of a steel border wall, arguing that illegal crossings are so rare in the area that such a barrier is unnecessary.
Since last October, roughly 34,480 encounters have been recorded along the southern border, with only 892 occurring in the Big Bend sector.
“I wish the president would be more informed as to what’s going on,” Presidio County Sheriff Danny Dominguez told Axios. “It’s a place where, if you cross the border, you got to at least walk three or four days... you don’t just walk across the river and expect to get picked up.”
The resistance has been strengthened by No Big Bend Wall, a newly formed local coalition monitoring the wall’s planned route.
The coalition argues that the steel barriers would harm fragile watersheds and historic archeological sites, disrupt wildlife migration, darken the region’s pristine night skies, and reduce the value of private property.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and Customs and Border Protection for comment.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was reportedly assured by Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks that no physical wall would be built inside Big Bend National Park or Big Bend Ranch State Park. As of mid-February, only 35.9 miles of new wall have been completed along the entire southern border.
But while state and national parks have avoided some of the planned barriers, private landowners are already receiving letters from the Army Corps of Engineers about construction access leases, according to Axios.
Environmental reviews, normally required for such projects, were waived by then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Surveyors are expected in mid-April, with construction set to begin in June.
Some plans show the wall placed about a mile north of the Rio Grande, threatening riverfront property and cutting off water access for local wildlife.
But local officials have mobilized to challenge the plans.
Five border county sheriffs sent an open letter urging federal officials to adopt a “technology-driven, terrain-informed” approach instead of building a wall.
Presidio and Brewster counties passed resolutions opposing construction and recently met with Big Bend Sector Chief Lloyd Easterling to voice their concerns.
“Regionally, we’re a united voice,” David Keller, a Redford, Texas resident and archeologist, told Axios. “Republican, Democrat, Libertarian: doesn’t matter. We all don’t want it.”
