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Landowners Sue to Block Trump Border Wall in Big Bend

By Drooid · Sep 14, 2026, 11:14 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Landowners Sue Trump

U.S. landowners and nonprofit Conserve Big Bend sued U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to halt the border wall in Texas' Big Bend.
They claim the Department of Homeland Security lacks authority to waive environmental and archaeological rules for the project.
The $46 billion plan calls for 30-foot steel bollard walls and vehicle barriers along roughly 2,000 miles of border.
A federal judge’s halt on Big Bend National Park barriers expires Tuesday, reopening the project.

Summary

DOJ Hiring Attorneys

Department of Justice is hiring assistant U.S. attorneys in the Western District of Texas for eminent domain litigation.
New ROE-C right-of-entry construction agreements let the government start building immediately and give landowners a $5,000 initial payment.
A study found landowners who contested condemnation received payouts on average twelve times higher than the government’s original offers.

History

Historical Context

Operation Gatekeeper, announced by Attorney General Janet Reno in September 1994, added 14 miles of steel fencing and doubled Border Patrol staffing, prompting a 1995 federal court ruling that the barrier violated the National Environmental Policy Act. The precedent guides today’s Department of Homeland Security Texas wall, now challenged by Conserve Big Bend and landowners.

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Landowners Sue Trump

U.S. landowners and nonprofit Conserve Big Bend sued U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to halt the border wall in Texas' Big Bend.
They claim the Department of Homeland Security lacks authority to waive environmental and archaeological rules for the project.
The $46 billion plan calls for 30-foot steel bollard walls and vehicle barriers along roughly 2,000 miles of border.
A federal judge’s halt on Big Bend National Park barriers expires Tuesday, reopening the project.

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