CBP pauses Big Bend National Park construction after border wall lawsuits

CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott is conducting an "on-the-ground evaluation."

Customs and Border Protection is pausing construction in Big Bend National Park, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said in an X post on Monday.

Scott's announcement comes amid several lawsuits that have been filed to stop border wall-related construction in the Texas national park. CBP was building parts of a "limited" barrier in the park instead of a 30-foot-wall as initially intended.

"CBP is pausing all construction activity in Big Bend National Park while I visit and conduct a personal, on-the-ground evaluation," Scott said. "CBP is firmly committed to protecting America, and that includes our national treasures like Big Bend National Park (BBNP). We know the current and predictable national security threats, and they are real."

Texas Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican, wrote a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin about the construction in early August.

"Recently, a bipartisan group of Texas border sheriffs and county judges, private landowners, and the Big Bend Park advocates have raised significant concerns about DHS' proposed construction of border barriers in Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park," Cornyn wrote.

He noted that many residents live and work around the park are concerned a wall would ruin the landscape, threaten native American sites and disrupt wildlife migration and harm the local economy.

Former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem waived certain laws which allowed the construction to get underway.

Last week, Texas State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat, joined ABC News Live's Kyra Phillips for his first TV interview about his federal lawsuit against the Trump administration over proposed border barriers in Big Bend National Park.

Gutierrez said last week that the project threatens sacred land, archaeological sites and national resources, and claimed crews have already clear-cut roughly two miles of land.

He questioned the need for barriers in the remote area, called the project a waste of taxpayer money and argued that the administration must follow laws protecting national parkland.

Republican Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland applauded Commissioner Scott’s decision to halt construction.

Cleveland was a former Border Patrol agent himself before being elected sheriff.

“I’m glad Commissioner Scott is finally coming out to the Big Bend. I’ve been encouraging him to visit for months because I’ve believed from the first announcement that the original plan was flawed,” Cleveland told ABC News.

He said he also hopes Scott considers other sectors of the border to halt construction at -- saying the border isn’t a one-size-fits-all for walls.

“There is still an opportunity to make this plan better and to tailor it to the realities of this part of the border,” he said.

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