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Mary Cantrell/Marfa Public RadioA recent lawsuit claims border agencies violated the federal Rivers and Harbors Act as part of the Trump administration’s plan for a border wall through the Big Bend region. The Department of Homeland Security responded by waiving that law, so it doesn’t have to follow it. -
Mary Cantrell/Marfa Public RadioHudspeth County officials entered into an agreement with Barnard Construction this week that will allow the border wall contractor to use and improve two county roads leading to the Rio Grande. The vote revealed riffs in the broader community over whether to fight or comply with the advancing wall project.
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Barnard Construction’s leadership donated over $1 million to the president’s campaign. They’re among the administration’s top wall contractors. -
Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar sought to bar the Trump administration from using federal funds to build border barriers in the national park, which is rarely traversed by migrants. -
The administration is once again bypassing federal environmental laws to speed up construction on border barriers and related infrastructure – this time for a project in Big Bend National Park and a nearby state park. Six former national park superintendents recently urged the administration to not take that step. -
U.S. Customs and Border Protection says border wall panels will start being installed in the region late this summer or early fall. Multiple signs of construction moving forward have surfaced in recent weeks, from the development of a “man camp” worker housing facility to apparent deliveries of steel bollards to the region.
