Plans for border wall in Texas’ Big Bend draw opposition

Environmental groups and business leaders are pushing back against the federal government’s plans to put border wall and “smart wall” through the Big Bend region of West Texas. Maps on U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s website on Monday show orange lines, which indicate “smart wall” technology through much of the region, but some border wall is still expected to go through Big Bend Ranch State Park, says Laiken Jordahl, national public lands advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity. In the latest episode of Border Report Live, Jordahl tells South Texas correspondent Sandra Sanchez and host Rudy Mireles that border wall will devastate Big Bend National Park’s 1,500-foot-tall cliffs overlooking the Rio Grande, prevent wildlife from getting to the river to drink, and detour tourists and hikers and white-water rafters who frequent the region. In 2024, Big Bend National Park had over 561,000 visitors and generated $57 million to the local economy, and $63 million in economic output to the region, according to a March 12 letter by the Center for Biological Diversity and 131 other organizations and nonprofits sent to several lawmakers to garner their support for putting a stop to the wall, including U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas.