U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott announced his agency put a temporary halt to ongoing infrastructure projects underway at Big Bend National Park in West Texas. Scott announced on Monday on the social media platform X that the projects would be paused while he meets with local stakeholders and law enforcement this week.
As reported by Breitbart Texas, the projects have come under scrutiny from politicians on both sides of the aisle. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) recently added his voice to those of local politicians and James Talarico, the Democratic nominee in the 2026 U.S. Senate election in Texas, in opposing border security enhancements in Big Bend National Park. In a letter addressed to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin dated August 7, Cornyn echoed constituents’ belief that dangerous terrain in the region acts as a “natural barrier that limits large-scale movements.”
In the letter, Cornyn urges Secretary Mullin to consider meeting with stakeholders to reconsider proposed border security infrastructure projects in the region and pause construction until concerns have been addressed. Cornyn’s intervention in the matter was met with quick praise by Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico.
The pause comes after a protest at the park earlier in August, organized by the Center for Biological Diversity. The event was attended by environmental activists and opponents of border security from the border region and the Austin, Texas, area. The organization opposes border infrastructure projects from California to Texas on the grounds they threaten the ecology and sites of cultural importance along the border.
On Monday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott credited his outreach with DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin for influencing the decision to pause the infrastructure projects within the park. At an unrelated press event in Waco, Texas, Abbott declared, “He committed to me they will not be building a wall or a fence in Big Bend National Park.” Abbott believes that technology could replace physical infrastructure in this region.
The installation of physical barriers within the state has also proven unpopular with ranchers outside the park. The projects have been met with skepticism by many private landowners, many of whom hold large tracts of land and are wary of losing access to parts of their property due to construction of border barriers. The ranchers also worry about impacts to livestock and hunting activities caused by increased federal presence on their property.
A report by the Texas Tribune showed that as many as a third of landowners approached by the state in 2024 refused to allow Abbott to build a border wall on their properties. Mike Novak, Executive Director of the Texas Facilities Commission overseeing the Texas border wall projects, called opposition to border wall construction the most daunting hurdle to completing the border wall, according to a Texas Tribune report.
Commissioner Scott did not indicate how long the pause would last or how much it would cost taxpayers, who must continue to fund the effort while work sits idle. In an exclusive report by Breitbart Texas, the 2021 border wall pause initiated by the Biden Administration was reported to have cost taxpayers $6 million per day as equipment and work crews sat idle for months until the projects were finally canceled in their entirety.
In this case, the pause could cost significantly less, specifically for the construction of border security projects within Big Bend National Park. According to federal contract regulations, contractors must immediately stop work, implement “make safe” activities, and take steps to mitigate costs during any pause in a federal project.
CBP has indicated that the Big Bend National Park projects will involve only the construction of one new access road, the improvement of existing roads, the installation of detection technology, and the placement of vehicle barriers in limited, strategic locations.
According to CBP, the work will not involve constructing a 30-foot border wall in the park. Despite this, liberal activists allege the projects will destroy the park. The pause was quickly celebrated by Congressman Greg Casar (D-TX), who announced the victory on social media platform X, saying, “The public outcry is working. Keep up the pressure until they fully abandon the plan to wreck Big Bend for no reason other than to make contractors money. Law enforcement, conservationists, Democrats, Republicans, Texans all agree: leave Big Bend alone.” Congressman Casar has frequently criticized the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement posture and has called for ICE to be completely abolished.
According to CBP, the agency sought public input on the projects from June to July 2026 as they relate to “potential impacts to the environment, culture, and commerce, including socioeconomic impacts, and quality of life.” The comment period was closed on July 13, 2026. Commissioner Scott did not indicate why additional outreach was needed.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
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