Texas Landowners and Conservationists Stand Against Destructive Border Wall in Big Bend
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A coalition of Texas ranchers and the nonprofit Conserve Big Bend have courageously filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection, exposing the reckless federal waivers that threaten both the environment and the constitutional rights of property owners in the Big Bend region.
Six Texas landowners and the nonprofit Conserve Big Bend, representing about 230 additional owners, have taken a bold stand by filing a lawsuit in a Washington, D.C. federal court on Monday to challenge the Department of Homeland Security’s and Customs and Border Protection’s aggressive plans to impose a border wall in the pristine Big Bend region. The suit highlights how the agency’s Secretary issued waivers to fast-track construction, even though the area does not meet the statutory criteria for a 'high illegal entry' designation—a move that conveniently sidesteps critical environmental, historic preservation, and public-health protections under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act.
The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction to halt all wall-related work, including the installation of steel bollards, vehicle barriers, and roads that would scar the natural beauty of Big Bend National Park. They argue that these waivers trample on their Fifth Amendment due-process rights and set a dangerous precedent for government overreach.
'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, underscoring the collective resistance against this destructive project.
'We live every day on edge not knowing what will become of our home, our ranching operation or our future,' said landowner Yolanda Alvarado, voicing the anxiety and uncertainty inflicted by the federal government’s disregard for local communities.
'People are fighting the biggest threat the Big Bend region has ever faced,' said plaintiff David Keller, emphasizing the existential danger posed by the wall.
'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 is threatened by the proposed wall’s path.
The lawsuit further reveals 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—demonstrating the baselessness of the wall’s justification. The court has 60 days to respond. DHS and CBP have not commented, remaining silent in the face of mounting opposition from local officials, ranchers, and tourism operators who argue that the wall would devastate the fragile desert landscape and the region’s economy.