Big Bend

The bulldozers have stopped in Big Bend for now. But for how long? And what does this mean for other culturally sensitive areas on the border slated for border wall construction? The Trump administration says the wall is needed to prevent illegal immigration, but critics say this pristine land is not a crossing point. The latest on the legal fight to save Big Bend.

Those opposed to the a border barrier throughout the Big Bend region say the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department should be doing more to stop the construction on state lands.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott said Monday he was "pausing all construction activity" in the West Texas park ahead of a visit to the region this week. Scott's visit comes after two weeks of public outcry over images of bulldozers and other heavy machinery clearing land in the park.

A coalition of landowners, outdoor enthusiasts and business owners that say any work in Big Bend National Park would forever change the place often called "Texas' gift to the nation."

The Trump administration’s plans for an unprecedented expansion of border-policing infrastructure in Big Bend have also triggered an ambitious scientific initiative. The Big Bend Borderlands BioBlitz aims to document the biodiversity here before it’s damaged or destroyed.

Texas Democrats are urging the Trump administration to delay its plans for building border barriers and roads across the West Texas park. Bulldozers and trucks bearing the logo of the contractor awarded $1.7 billion for the project were seen in the national park on Tuesday as local activists warn construction could start at any moment.

Officials in Jeff Davis and Presidio counties are holding off on making deals with a border wall contractor that's aiming to use a remote dirt road to the Rio Grande as a key access point for the Trump administration's Big Bend area border wall.

Texas General Land Office Commissioner Dawn Buckingham on Friday sent cease and desist letters to Barnard Construction and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, claiming the border wall contractor had performed "illegal" land clearing work on state-owned land in southern Presidio County.

Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate James Talarico announced his border security plan during a campaign stop Monday in Terrell County. Talarico called the Trump administration's Big Bend border wall a "monument to corruption."

Officials in the small West Texas border city of Presidio are asking a federal judge to temporarily block border wall construction, arguing the plan would leave locals vulnerable to "deadly" flash flooding.