(The Center Square) – Last month, prior to Kristi Noem being removed as Department of Homeland Security Secretary, a series of controversial multimillion dollar border wall construction contracts were inked, including in Big Bend National Park and in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Big Bend Sector in Texas. The contracts – without any notification or input from the community – are angering Texas sheriffs, judges, ranchers and homeowners in five counties – who all oppose it.
After local opposition was expressed, DHS amended a map on its website indicating hundreds of miles of border wall weren’t being built in the Big Bend region. Contracts state otherwise.
In February, DHS announced it had awarded one company, Parsons Government Services, with “streamlining and supercharging” all border wall construction. The “Big Beautiful Bill” allocated $46.5 billion for border wall construction, the most in U.S. history.
While some border wall construction in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California is underway, construction in other areas has been stalled. Some attribute this to a policy Noem implemented that caused delays. Others attribute it to extensive infighting among DHS staff and Noem’s special advisor, Corey Lewindowski.
Members of Congress raised concerns about Noem’s management of DHS contracts including a no bid contract for $220 million awarded to a political ally and husband of her spokesperson.
After Noem’s exodus, her decisions are still being criticized in one of the most unlikely places: the Big Bend region in far west Texas.
Under the Biden administration, the CBP Big Bend Sector reported a record number of illegal border crossers who were either apprehended or evaded capture. After President Donald Trump reversed Biden-era policies, Border Patrol agents have been breaking records and implementing new technology to patrol the remote area, The Center Square reported.
The proposed wall would cut off Texas ranchers from the Rio Grande River that sustains irrigation and water for livestock in a desert already suffering from drought. It would also kill the primary tourism industry the region has – access to Big Bend National Park.
Local county judges vehemently oppose it. Brewster County Judge Greg Henington is a vocal opponent. Hudspeth County Judge Joanna Mackenzie refers to the plan as "a Band-Aid to make people feel better who don't live here and don't see it."
The biggest opposition comes from Texas border sheriffs who’ve been involved in border security for years. Chief among them is Republican Terrell County Sheriff Thad Cleveland, who has participated in Texas’ border security missions for years under Republican governors Rick Perry and Greg Abbott. Prior to being elected sheriff, he served as a Border Patrol agent and supervisor for decades.
“From the beginning, Kristi Noem seemed to be auditioning for president or another office, cycling through costumes and locations in self-promotional videos, unfamiliar with how border enforcement works. She ruined decades of good will that Border Patrol had spent years building. It is a priority to develop relationships with local communities and multiple law enforcement agencies, with all of us working together,” Cleveland told The Center Square.
"Unfortunately, Noem and her staff had no experience with border security and refused to listen to guidance from career employees within CBP and ICE. They turned serious law enforcement operations that Border Patrol and ICE officers have spent years training for and take seriously, into memes. She disrespected agents' work by pitting them against fellow Americans in cities where they were unfamiliar with how immigration enforcement and national security operations work. Her allegiance appeared to be to herself and to her own professional ambition, not to Border Patrol or ICE agents or to Americans living in border communities and the inner cities.
"We have real solutions if only whoever is in charge will listen."
In an open letter, the sheriffs of Brewster, Culberson, Hudspeth, Presidio and Terrell counties expressed opposition to any border wall construction and said solutions already exist.
“As elected law enforcement officials serving the Big Bend region of Texas, we share a commitment to strong, effective border security,” they said. “Protecting our communities, supporting our federal partners and upholding the rule of law are the core responsibilities of our offices. Based on decades of combined experience working with this terrain, we believe that construction of a continuous physical border wall in the Big Bend region would not represent the most practical or strategic approach to border security in this area.”
The region “is geographically distinct from heavily trafficked urban corridors along the southern border. Steep mountain ranges, deep canyons, expansive desert landscapes, and the Rio Grande River itself create formidable natural barriers and significantly limit large scale movement. These realities must be considered when evaluating appropriate enforcement strategies.”
A better alternative is to use modern surveillance technology, including advanced aerial systems currently deployed by CBP, they argue, which have already proven to be highly effective in detecting and interdicting illegal activity in remote areas. Targeted patrols supported by aerial and sensor-based monitoring is another proven solution, they said, “allowing law enforcement to respond precisely and effectively without the need for extensive permanent infrastructure.”
Any proposed permanent infrastructure, including a lighting system, access roads and maintenance corridors, would permanently alter one of the most remote and ecologically significant landscapes in the United States, they said. The Big Bend National Park is one of the most pristine, untouched regions of the country protected by the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, and has a Wild and Scenic River designation.
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