Big Bend National Park border construction paused under agreement with locals

Attorneys for the Trump administration reached an agreement with a Terlingua business and a nonprofit tied to the Lipan Apache Tribe, extending a pause on border construction in Big Bend National Park to September 15. U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia noted the pause gives both sides time to work through the dispute after bulldozing in the park sparked a lawsuit and public outcry earlier this month.

U.S. Attorney Pamala Amaechi told the court no pedestrian wall is planned, only a vehicle barrier, after DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin waived environmental and preservation statutes in June to speed construction. Plaintiffs argue the project would violate their rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, with witness Christina Hernandez testifying that losing access to the river would impede her Indigenous religious practice.

A former 26-year Border Patrol agent, Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland, testified the area's terrain makes it an unlikely crossing route, and plaintiffs noted the sector has the fewest apprehensions of any stretch covering a quarter of the southern border. Amaechi countered that crossing numbers are irrelevant because DHS retains discretion over operational control, free of judicial oversight.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.