Growing frustration and protests are spreading in and around Big Bend National Park in far west Texas, where locals are demanding crews stop work on border security projects they say are unnecessary and destroying a national treasure.
The projects are part of the broader southern border barrier initiative that received $46.5 billion under the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act."
More than 800,000 miles of rugged beauty line the border between the U.S. and Mexico inside the park. But now, the natural rhythm of Big Bend National Park is giving way to the rumble of bulldozers, backhoes, and outrage from those who call the area home.
One protestor shouted, "We're at war with these people."
That "war" is against work that has already started on a group of Trump administration projects to build 200 miles of border wall, mostly just outside of Big Bend, while carving out hundreds of miles of patrol roads, installing cameras, sensors, and lighting systems, along with 17 miles of 4-to-6 foot vehicle barriers inside Texas' most popular national park — at a cost of more than $7 billion.
"This has nothing to do with border security, and everything to do with corruption," another protester said.
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The Department of Homeland Security has waived the requirement for contractors to comply with dozens of laws, including the Endangered Species Act and National Environmental Policy Act, saying enhanced security is necessary — in a park where Customs and Border Patrol statistics show around 1% of nationwide illegal border crossings occur.
Bob Krumenaker, a former Big Bend National Park superintendent, said the projects represent a fundamental breach of trust.
"This a betrayal of the United States government against its citizens, who thought that they were setting aside one of the most beautiful, and pristine and biologically important places in the United States."
Many in the area worry the construction is leaving unnecessary scars, on once-protected lands, that may never heal.
