Trump administration launches wall construction in Texas' contested Big Bend area

The Trump administration has begun erecting a 30-foot steel barrier on a 47-mile corridor in the Big Bend region of west Texas, the first sizable construction effort in an area where the plan has met strong resistance. Customs and Border Protection announced that panel installation is under way in Hudspeth County’s Big Bend 1 zone, one of five project areas spanning roughly 500 miles from south of El Paso to Lake Amistad.

The move follows a reported acceleration of wall building, now averaging 12 miles per one outlet, double the rate cited earlier this year. Opponents, including landowners, ranchers, environmental groups and the No Big Bend Wall Coalition led by Clara Benson, say the remote region does not warrant such infrastructure and vow to continue legal and activist challenges. While construction inside nearby Big Bend National Park remains paused, contractors have been seen delivering supplies and preparing sites along the Rio Grande. The administration’s broader border-security strategy combines walls, vehicle-blocking barriers, patrol roads and surveillance technology to cover the entire U.S.-Mexico border.