Across the Americas | CBP bends to public pressure on Big Bend, Abbott takes credit

Photo ©Rebecca L. Latson

The entrance sign at Big Bend National Park in West Texas, where U.S. Customs and Border Protection paused border construction Monday. (File Photo)

Across the Americas | CBP bends to public pressure on Big Bend, Abbott takes credit

Originally posted August 17, 2026

All border security construction inside Big Bend National Park is being temporarily suspended, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott posted to X on Monday.

Hours later, Gov. Greg Abbott said federal officials had promised him no barrier of any kind would be built in the park at all.

  • Previously silent on the project, Abbott is now claiming credit for the pause while advocates warn construction is “likely to resume at any moment.”
  • We reported earlier that a CBP document from June proposed 17 noncontiguous miles 4-to-6-foot-high vehicle fencing in Brewster County alongside roughly 205 miles of patrol road up to 24 feet wide. Plans for a 30-foot wall through Big Bend were dropped in March.

“I put a pause on all activity in that park as far as construction goes until I can get down there and do a personal evaluation,” Scott said in the video posted to X. He said he would “talk to some stakeholders, talk to local law enforcement in that area, and more to follow this week.”

Read the full article at Across the Americas.

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