Bulldozers Clear 1 Mile in Big Bend Park for Border Barrier as Bipartisan Backlash Grows
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 15
Bulldozers Clear 1 Mile in Big Bend Park for Border Barrier as Bipartisan Backlash Grows
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 15
Summary
More than a mile of ground near Santa Elena Canyon has been leveled this month, with contractors tearing through mesquite and brush inside Big Bend National Park.
The work marks the clearest sign yet that border barrier construction is advancing in the park after the project had been removed from the federal border construction map amid earlier opposition.
Fresh anger has spread among environmentalists, former park officials and local sheriffs, who argue the remote, dangerous terrain has rarely drawn migrant crossings even at peak unauthorized migration.
John Cornyn and James Talarico both voiced concern over construction in the park, underscoring how resistance now spans both parties as the Trump administration pushes ahead.