Originally posted August 17, 2026
The Trump administration has paused all border barrier construction work at Big Bend National Park, after a flurry of videos showing bulldozers marring the protected landscape drove a furious backlash.
The move, announced Monday by Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott, comes amid growing public outrage over the Trump administration’s fast-paced efforts to tarnish the pristine park with border security infrastructure that local leaders from both parties view as unnecessary in an area where unlawful crossings are rare and steep cliffs provide a natural barrier to entry. Several groups have filed lawsuits aimed at stopping the construction.
In a post to social media announcing the pause, Scott said he would visit Big Bend to “conduct a personal, on-the-ground evaluation.”
Read the full story on the Public Domain Substack.
Photo credit NPS Climate Change Response, Flickr
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