DHS Waiver Clears Path for Border Wall Construction Inside Big Bend National Park

On June 13, 2026 DHS issued a waiver suspending environmental and historic-preservation statutes, allowing CBP to build security infrastructure it deems necessary within the 800,000-acre Big Bend National Park.

The Guardian

Congress allocated $46.5 billion for security in the “Big, Beautiful” appropriations bill, part of which funds the “Big Bend sector.” DHS previously used waivers for Arizona sites; this is the first waiver for a national park.

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CBP plans a 17-mile barrier of 4-6-ft steel rails at four sites and 205 miles of 24-ft-wide detection roads. An earlier map showed a 30-ft steel bollard wall along the Rio Grande, but design limits work to barriers. The project spans 500 miles of border. CBP recorded 100 arrests in 2023 and 125 in 2024, under 0.5 % of illegal crossings nationwide, reflecting the terrain.

The Guardian

The waiver suspends compliance with NEPA, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act and Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. Big Bend contains several endangered species, a struggling bighorn-sheep population, and extensive Native rock-art and petroglyphs, raising concerns about habitat loss and cultural damage.

The Guardian

A CBP spokesperson said planning continues, coordination with National Park Service and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department persists, and effort meets priorities. DHS framed the waiver as an emergency response to crossings, while CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott dismissed the idea of a 30-ft wall on a 90-ft cliff as unnecessary.

The Guardian

Rep. Lloyd Doggett called the project “ludicrous” and a waste of taxpayer dollars. Bob Krumenaker warned of “massive impact, massive destruction.” Laiken Jordahl of Center for Biological Diversity called the waiver “an attack on the integrity of National Park Service.” Rep. Henry Cuellar’s funding block failed in committee, and a lawsuit by Friends of Ruidosa Church, Billy Miller and Center for Biological Diversity challenges the waivers on due-process grounds.

The Guardian

• “Billions of taxpayer dollars are being wasted on this unnecessary project, as Big Bend’s rugged mountains make illegal crossings nearly impossible, with crossings in the area accounting for under half a percentage point of all illegal border crossings nationwide last year,” — Lloyd Doggett, U.S. Representative (TX-D)

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• “It’s massive impact, massive destruction,” — Bob Krumenaker, former Big Bend National Park superintendent, Keep Big Bend Wild

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• “Waiving the law undermines all credibility and makes them completely unaccountable to anyone,” — Bob Krumenaker

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• “This is an attack on the integrity of the National Park Service itself,” — Laiken Jordahl, Center for Biological Diversity

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• “kind of silly to put like a 30-foot border wall on top of a 90-foot granite cliff” — Rodney Scott, CBP Commissioner

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The lawsuit proceeds in court while Congress debates restrictions on DHS spending. A judicial ruling could set a precedent for infrastructure projects on protected federal lands.

The Guardian