ABC News (US)
· collected 2026-10-09 · by REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press
How Texas landowners are fighting back against Trump's border wall
asserted
landowners → fight → wall
The Trump administration is pushing forward with a $46 billion border wall from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico
RUIDOSA, Texas --
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administration → push → Mexico
The message from the Trump administration has been clear: It is moving ahead with a $46 billion border wall project stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.
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It → move → Mexico
But in Texas’ Big Bend region, the administration has run up against intense opposition from landowners, many of whom are unwilling to cede parts of their property for what they see as a waste of taxpayer dollars.
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they → run → dollars
That resistance is complicating President Donald Trump’s signature infrastructure project in a fight that has become a test of just how far the administration will go to fulfill its vision of a fortified southern border.
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administration → complicate → border
The administration has committed billions of dollars and waived environmental and other protections to plow ahead with the project despite the region’s historically low illegal crossings, its formidable natural barriers and a surge of bipartisan opposition that has scrambled traditional border politics.
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that → commit → politics
The federal government has sweeping authority to force the project through.
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government → have → project
But a judge has now paused construction across the region, giving a major boost to landowners who have sought to impede the wall by refusing to cooperate with government surveyors, protesting at county meetings and gearing up for court battles.
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who → pause → battles
“Landowner resistance has slowed this project to a crawl,” said David Keller, a landowner suing to stop the Big Bend border plans.
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Keller → slow → plans
The administration, he added, was “woefully unprepared for the hornet’s nest they stirred up.”
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they → add → nest
Building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border has long been a key campaign promise for Trump.
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Building → build → Trump
And the administration pushed ahead with it after Republicans last year approved $46 billion for the border wall as part of a sweeping immigration enforcement package.
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Republicans → push → package
Although illegal crossings have plummeted under Trump, the administration says walls, vehicle barriers, surveillance technology and patrol roads are needed to keep them low.
Customs and Border Protection says it’s building an average of about 12 miles or 20 kilometers of barrier a week and had recently hit a milestone of more than 200 miles (320 km) of new walls built under the second Trump administration.
In Big Bend, where construction began in September, the administration plans to spend $7.5 billion to fortify the border along a region stretching more than 500 miles (800 km).
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administration → plummet → miles
In August, the Border Patrol arrested 8,870 people along the southern border.
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Patrol → arrest → border
In Big Bend, which makes up roughly one quarter of the entire U.S.-Mexico border, it arrested 161.
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it → make → 161
“The American people have already seen the consequences of an unprotected border," said CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott after a lawsuit filed by landowners against the Big Bend project.
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Scott → see → project
“We cannot allow any region — including Big Bend — to be exploited again.”
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region → allow → Bend
Unlike in other border areas, much of the land in Texas is privately or state owned.
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much → own → Texas
The government must acquire authorization from owners to survey and build and if they refuse, can take them to court.
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they → acquire → court
The process by which the government takes someone’s property for public use in exchange for compensation is known as eminent domain and courts generally defer to the government in these cases.
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courts → take → cases
That hasn't stopped Dianna and Dan Burbach.
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That → stop → Burbach
The Burbachs began receiving paperwork in July seeking permission to survey their property, along with a map showing where the project would run behind their house.
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project → receive → house
An August letter said the government had an “immediate need” to enter and warned that it could go to court within 90 days.
Dianna, 63, and her husband, 79, arrived 25 years ago and raised four children in their orange adobe house on property stretching to the Rio Grande.
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Dianna → say → Grande
Now retired, they worry construction could worsen flooding and leave 15 acres (6 hectares) of their land behind the wall.
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construction → worry → wall
“We’re going to let them take us to court, do eminent domain," Dianna said.
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Dianna → go → domain
"We’ll fight it that way.”
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We → fight → it
A Justice Department official said CBP has reached agreements with dozens of Big Bend landowners but that the administration has hired eminent domain attorneys in Texas in anticipation of the disputes.
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administration → say → disputes
Across the southern border, about 70 such cases have been referred to the department during Trump’s second term, and 50 have already been resolved — none required going to trial, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the government.
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official → refer → government
The No Big Bend Wall Coalition, which says its network includes more than 200 landowners, recently sued to block construction.
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network → say → construction
The plaintiffs argue that Homeland Security is misusing its authority in a region with little illegal cross-border activity.
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Security → argue → activity
Lawsuits aiming to stop or slow the border wall projects have largely been unsuccessful.
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Lawsuits → aim → projects
But in a major win for opponents, a federal judge temporarily barred wall construction in the Big Bend area.
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judge → bar → area
Plaintiffs argued the administration had overstepped its congressional authority by issuing sweeping waivers to bypass environmental and other regulations.
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administration → argue → regulations
Keller said the judge’s ruling was “unqualified good news” but uncertainty over its future meant the landowners would continue their fight.
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landowners → say → fight
It’s not immediately clear how long the judge’s order will slow the government, which late Thursday asked the judge to put aside her order while they appeal.
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they → ’ → order
The administration also argued in the court filing that leaving segments along the border without adequate border security infrastructure could lead to a funnel effect where illegal immigration or smuggling would flow to the area that was least fortified — specifically the Big Bend region.
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that → argue → area
Other opponents are pressing local governments not to assist contractors.
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opponents → press → contractors
Charlie Angell, a tourism operator notified that the government wanted access to his land for the border project, and his partner, Bibiana Gutierrez, attend county meetings throughout the region.
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government → notify → region
They and other land and business owners have staged protests, patrolled areas where contractors are working to look for possible violations, and hung signs telling contractors they’re not welcome at local hotels or restaurants.
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they → stag → hotels
In Terrell County, residents unsuccessfully urged officials not to lease airport land to a barrier contractor.
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residents → urge → contractor
…and 43 more, not listed.
The Aporia
