Texas landowners file lawsuit to block border wall construction in Big Bend
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A coalition of Texas ranchers and the nonprofit Conserve Big Bend sued the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection, arguing that federal waivers for a border wall in the Big Bend region were improperly issued and violate property owners' constitutional rights.
Six Texas landowners and the nonprofit Conserve Big Bend, representing about 230 additional owners, filed a lawsuit in a Washington, D.C. federal court on Monday challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s and Customs and Border Protection’s plans to build a border wall in the Big Bend region. The suit alleges that the agency’s Secretary issued waivers that allowed expedited construction despite the area not meeting the statutory criteria for a "high illegal entry" designation, a determination that bypasses numerous environmental, historic preservation and public-health statutes under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act.
The plaintiffs seek an injunction to halt all wall-related work, including steel bollards, vehicle barriers and roads inside Big Bend National Park, and claim the waivers infringe on their Fifth Amendment due-process rights.
"Hundreds of us are standing together to defend our constitutional rights and our private property — including land that many families have stewarded for generations," said Clara Bensen, a board member of the nonprofit No Big Bend Wall.
"We live every day on edge not knowing what will become of our home, our ranching operation or our future," said landowner Yolanda Alvarado.
"People are fighting the biggest threat the Big Bend region has ever faced," said plaintiff David Keller.
"All of our lower farmlands and pastures will more than likely be behind the barrier, as well as our little ranch house and our ranch out-buildings," said landowner Lico Miller, whose family ranch lies in the proposed wall’s path.
The lawsuit also contends that the waivers were issued despite the Big Bend sector accounting for less than 1.5% of total border apprehensions over the past five years, according to CBP data. The court has 60 days to respond. DHS and CBP have not commented. The legal challenge follows a series of opposition efforts by local officials, ranchers and tourism operators who argue the wall would damage the desert landscape and the region’s economy.