EL PASO \u2014 Advocacy groups and a West Texas resident filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Trump administration for bypassing environmental laws to speed up its efforts to build a border barrier in the Big Bend area along the Rio Grande, arguing the move is not only illegal but that a wall \u201cwill destroy iconic sections of the Rio Grande corridor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve spent more than two decades guiding on the river, and if a border wall cuts off access, that\u2019s the end of my career,\u201d said Danny William Miller, Jr., a professional river guide and Terlingua resident who is one of the plaintiffs. \u201cNo one comes to Big Bend to see steel walls and razor wire. If they build this, they\u2019re not just destroying a landscape, they\u2019re wiping out our way of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miller, along with the Friends of the Ruidosa Church <\/a>\u2014 a preservation group in the area \u2014 and the Center for Biological Diversity, a national nonprofit organization, filed the lawsuit in <\/a>the Western District of Texas in El Paso. <\/p>\n \u201cWhile we fully support thoughtful, effective approaches to border safety, building a permanent wall in this unique landscape does nothing to solve local realities,\u201d the group said in a statement. \u201cThe rugged terrain, steep canyons, and the Rio Grande itself already serve as natural deterrents and have for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n The lawsuit argues the Trump administration needs Congress\u2019 approval to proceed with its plan because its efforts to build a barrier have \u201cvast economic and political significance.\u201d <\/p>\n Bypassing Congress to waive environmental laws to build a barrier along the Rio Grande, the lawsuit says, violates the \u201cmajor questions doctrine,\u201d which requires the White House to seek congressional approval before taking sweeping economic actions.<\/p>\n The U.S. Supreme Court cited the doctrine <\/a>in its rulings against the Trump administration\u2019s tariffs on imports and the Biden administration\u2019s student loan forgiveness program.<\/p>\n In February, the Trump administration waived over two dozen environmental laws to clear the way for a 150-mile-long border barrier through West Texas, including Big Bend National Park and the adjoining state park, a rugged and scenic stretch with unscalable canyons along the Rio Grande.<\/p>\n The Border Patrol\u2019s Big Bend Sector, which encompasses 517 miles of the 1,950-mile-long U.S.-Mexico border, has historically been the least busy of the nine sectors. In fiscal year 2025, Border Patrol recorded 3,096 apprehensions in the Big Bend sector \u2014 accounting for just 1.3% of the 237,538 apprehensions recorded across the entire U.S.-Mexico border.<\/p>\n The move angered residents and has bipartisan opposition, including from local sheriffs who say the federal government should listen to the needs of local law enforcement officials if it wants to help prevent illegal immigration in the area. <\/p>\n After strong public opposition, the Trump administration has given conflicting messages about whether it plans to build a physical barrier in the area. <\/p>\n As of April 16, a map on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website no longer indicates that a border wall will be constructed in the Big Bend region from Big Bend Ranch State Park \u2014 which borders the national park to the west \u2014 to the Amistad National Recreation Area in Del Rio. The website indicates the Trump administration plans to install \u201cdetection technology\u201d in that area. <\/p>\n A spokesperson for the Border Patrol\u2019s Big Bend Sector previously told Marfa Public Radio that there are \u201ccurrently no plans for border wall construction\u201d in the state park. But emails obtained by the radio station from Paul Enriquez<\/a>, an infrastructure director for Border Patrol, say the administration may still build barriers along the Big Bend region in the future.<\/p>\n Meanwhile in Washington, D.C., lawmakers and advocates spoke against the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to erect barriers all along the Texas-Mexico border on Thursday during a news conference.<\/p>\n