Since news first surfaced that border walls could be built for the first time in the Big Bend region of West Texas, the story has been marked by shifting, unannounced changes to the plan and few clearly communicated details from the Trump administration.
Marfa Public Radio has been closely following developments in the story over the past few months.
Here鈥檚 where things stand.
Will there be a border wall anywhere in the Big Bend region?
Yes, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection鈥檚
Physical barriers, in the form of 30-foot-high steel bollard walls, are planned for a 175-mile stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border in Hudspeth, Jeff Davis and Presidio counties.
is broken up into three border wall projects:
Federal contracts were awarded in March for each of the three projects.
A $1 billion contract for Big Bend 1 Barnard Construction. A $1.2 billion contract for Big Bend 2 Fisher Sand and Gravel, and a $960.4 million for Big Bend 3 to Barnard Construction.
In late April, a $4.4 million federal contract Tierra Right of Way Services for 鈥淏B-3 Border Barrier Project Construction Monitoring Services.鈥� CBP told Marfa Public Radio this week that the award is for 鈥渆nvironmental and cultural monitors鈥� for that stretch of wall project.
CBP also said that the timeline for completion for these three projects is sometime in 2027.
Landowners along this stretch first from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers the agency handling real estate acquisition for CBP, in February. The for this section, which was extended several times, was set to close Friday, May 22.
Will there be a border wall in Big Bend National Park?
No, according to CBP鈥檚
CBP that it is not planning a 30-foot-high border wall in the national park.
Still, the park is set to receive a combination of border vehicle barriers, surveillance technology and patrol roads, according to CBP.
This plan is outlined under one project:
Last week, DHS for the national park project
Though a federal government spending website shows the Big Bend 4 contract award as being for 鈥渁 border wall in Big Bend, Texas,鈥� CBP has denied that the contract is for a physical wall.
Anti-wall advocates have expressed skepticism that a border wall in the national park, which , is truly not happening.
What are the latest details on the work in the national park?
Brewster County Judge Greg Henington, whose county contains the national park, and other local officials met with CBP representatives last week for a status update on all the Big Bend area border wall projects.
Henington said he learned in that meeting that CBP plans to improve, but not pave, dirt roads in the national park, including River Road and Black Gap Road.
Some existing paved roads in the national park will both be improved, he said, and vehicle barriers in the form of concrete bollards will be installed at spots along the river like Lajitas, Rio Grande Village and La Linda, Henington said.
According to Henington, CBP representatives told local officials that they plan to utilize cameras and sensors with infrared technology to respect the area鈥檚 dark sky designation. Still, Henington said they were ultimately 鈥渧ague on what electronic surveillance really entails.鈥�
Could the border wall plans for the Big Bend region still change?
Yes, absolutely.
Throughout recent months, CBP鈥檚 plans have changed multiple times without any formal announcements, press releases or social media posts from the agency.
The changes have often only been noticed thanks to local residents, advocates and news outlets who have been paying close attention to the agency鈥檚 鈥� which even disappeared for several weeks from CBP鈥檚 website.
When could actual construction on border walls or other infrastructure begin?
It鈥檚 hard to say.
Local officials were previously told by CBP in March that construction could begin , but the agency has not since provided an updated timeline.
Still, contractors are already mobilizing in the region.
One federal contractor began earlier this month for the Hudspeth-Jeff Davis-Presidio County wall project. This came after a dustup among contractor crews and local county officials about that began on a rural dirt road to the border in April.
Meanwhile, plans are underway for a housing facility for border wall workers south of Van Horn in Lobo. Construction activity on the land has started in recent weeks, though the local groundwater district is still considering whether or not to allow a designated agricultural water well to be used as a commercial well for the project.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is meanwhile in about acquiring property for the project. Is it unclear how many landowners have authorized border wall construction at this point, or how many will be facing eminent domain proceedings and when those will be initiated.
How are people reacting to all this?
CBP鈥檚 plans for border wall building in the remote Big Bend region have sparked widespread bipartisan opposition in recent months.
Five border county sheriffs the plans and more than 2,000 people showed up at the to protest the Big Bend border wall in April.
This week, seven former superintendents of Big Bend National Park sent Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin a letter not to waive federal environmental laws for border barriers in the park, arguing that even new vehicle barriers and roads would be 鈥渉ighly destructive.鈥�
How the wall will impact wildlife, the region鈥檚 dark skies, the tourism-based economy and flooding along the river corridor are among the many concerns raised by residents.
Local officials were largely in the dark about the wall plans for many months, prompting a to send a letter to Mullin requesting more collaboration with local communities impacted by the project. Now, they are set to meet with CBP officials once every couple of weeks, according to Brewster County Judge Greg Henington.
鈥溾�奛one of this makes any of us happy, but I think it鈥檚 a positive that at least they seem to be moving away from this secret squirrel stuff and being more open about it,鈥� he said.
The state鈥檚 top elected officials 鈥� namely, Republican Gov. Abbott 鈥� have remained mostly quiet on the issue, while area lawmakers Sen. Cesar Blanco and Rep. Eddie Morales 鈥� both Democrats 鈥� have come out in opposition to the wall plan.
The Center for Biological Diversity, a church preservation group and a local river guide have also for bypassing federal environmental laws to speed up border wall plans in the region, arguing the move is unconstitutional and would lead to the destruction of 鈥渋conic sections鈥� of the Rio Grande corridor.
Does the Big Bend region need a border wall?
This is, of course, at the heart of the debate over the administration鈥檚 plans.
The Border Patrol鈥檚 鈥淏ig Bend Sector鈥� 鈥� which stretches across 510 miles of the border 鈥� has historically been one of the least-trafficked areas of the southwestern border.
Apprehensions of people crossing the border illegally in the sector fell 74% from 2023 to 2025, Autonomous surveillance towers have also cut down on traffic significantly, Local sheriffs they believe technology can be used to patrol the region鈥檚 border 鈥渨ithout the need for extensive permanent infrastructure.鈥�
Still, President Trump has long sought to build a physical wall across the entire U.S.-Mexico border since his first term in office. On the first day of his second term in January 2025, he directing the Defense and Homeland Security secretaries to 鈥渢ake all appropriate action to deploy and construct temporary and permanent physical barriers to ensure complete operational control of the southern border.鈥� The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, approved by Congress in July 2025,
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