West Texas Residents Resist Border Wall Expansion Through 1,500-Foot Big Bend Cliffs
Updated
Updated · The FP · Aug 19
West Texas Residents Resist Border Wall Expansion Through 1,500-Foot Big Bend Cliffs
3 articles · Updated · The FP · Aug 19
Summary
Big Bend residents are pushing back against a proposed border wall expansion that would cut through one of West Texas’s most cherished wilderness areas, creating an unusual split with Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda.
Santa Elena Canyon — framed by 1,500-foot limestone walls and steep mountains — is cited by locals and park staff as terrain that already deters illegal crossings, undercutting the case for more barriers there.
The dispute shows how Trump’s second-term border strategy, even after broader efforts to secure the Mexico border and expand deportations, is running into local resistance when federal plans threaten treasured landscapes.
In West Texas, that has scrambled usual political lines, turning a national immigration fight into a local battle over land, access and the character of Big Bend.