ALPINE, Texas — U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott said Monday he ordered a pause in construction activity inside Big Bend National Park as he prepares to visit the area amid growing opposition to the Trump administration’s border infrastructure plans.
Scott said he ordered the pause Sunday night and planned to visit the park this week for what he called a personal evaluation of the project. He also said he would meet with local law enforcement officials, community members and other stakeholders.
“We know the current and predictable national security threats and they are real,” Scott said. He added that he would assess the terrain while seeking to secure the border and protect the national park.
The Trump administration has faced increasing criticism over construction crews clearing land inside the park as part of plans to build patrol roads and install about 17 miles of steel vehicle barriers.
Scott had defended the work days earlier, describing it as survey and design activity and saying CBP did not plan to construct a 30-foot steel border wall inside the park.
Activists have posted images and videos showing bulldozers and other heavy equipment clearing areas near Santa Elena Canyon and Mariscal Mountain.
Laiken Jordahl of the Center for Biological Diversity, which has sued the administration over the project, said the construction pause showed growing public pressure but warned that work could resume.
The administration waived several federal environmental requirements for the project in June. Southwest Valley Constructors, a subsidiary of Nebraska-based construction company Kiewit, received a $1.7 billion contract in May for the project.
Marfa Public Radio reporters who flew over the park Monday did not observe active construction near Santa Elena Canyon or Mariscal Mountain. They saw heavy equipment near Mariscal Mountain, however, close to the beginning of what appeared to be a newly cleared path.
The administration also faces multiple lawsuits challenging its border construction plans in and around Big Bend National Park. A local Indigenous group recently asked a federal judge to temporarily block construction.
Scott’s visit comes as federal officials face pressure to balance border security efforts with concerns over environmental and cultural impacts inside the national park.
