Texas Landowners Sue to Halt Crucial Border Security Measures in Big Bend
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A group of Texas ranchers and the nonprofit Conserve Big Bend have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection, attempting to block essential federal waivers for border wall construction in the Big Bend region and challenging the government’s efforts to secure the border.
Six Texas landowners and the nonprofit Conserve Big Bend, representing about 230 additional owners, have filed a lawsuit in a Washington, D.C. federal court on Monday, seeking to undermine the Department of Homeland Security’s and Customs and Border Protection’s efforts to build a much-needed border wall in the Big Bend region. The suit alleges that the agency’s Secretary issued waivers for expedited construction, despite the area supposedly not meeting the statutory criteria for a 'high illegal entry' designation—an argument that ignores the broader national security crisis at the border and the need to bypass excessive environmental, historic preservation, and public-health red tape under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act.
The plaintiffs are demanding an injunction to halt all work on the wall, including steel bollards, vehicle barriers, and roads inside Big Bend National Park, claiming that the waivers infringe on their Fifth Amendment due-process rights. Their legal maneuver threatens to delay or derail vital infrastructure that would help protect American communities from illegal crossings and criminal activity.
'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, as activists continue to prioritize personal interests over national security.
'We live every day on edge not knowing what will become of our home, our ranching operation or our future,' said landowner Yolanda Alvarado, reflecting the uncertainty that comes when the federal government tries to enforce the law.
'People are fighting the biggest threat the Big Bend region has ever faced,' said plaintiff David Keller, characterizing border security as a threat rather than acknowledging the dangers posed by unchecked illegal immigration.
'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, highlighting the personal inconveniences being weighed against national interests.
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, but fails to recognize the need for comprehensive border security. The court has 60 days to respond. DHS and CBP have not commented. This legal challenge follows ongoing opposition from local officials, ranchers, and tourism operators who continue to put environmental and economic concerns above the safety and sovereignty of the nation.