Texas Landowners Sue Trump Administration to Halt Big Bend Border Wall Construction

Landowners and other supporters held signs against the Trump administration's plans to build a border wall and other infrastructure in Texas's remote Big Bend region, in Marfa, Texas, on September 14, 2026. A coalition comprising landowners, ranchers, businesses, and a non-profit organisation has filed a lawsuit against the administration of United States President Donald Trump to halt the construction of a border wall along the Mexico border in the remote Big Bend region of Texas.

Trump officials "were woefully unprepared for the hornet’s nest they stirred up because they had no idea how much we love this place", stated David Keller, an archaeologist, historian, and local resident, during a news conference on Monday to announce the legal action. "For us, the Big Bend is not an empty place on the map. It is our home."

The lawsuit was formally initiated by Conserve Big Bend alongside six landowners, backed by dozens of residents living along the border. This legal challenge coincides with the Trump administration advancing a $46bn initiative to secure the approximately 3,219km border with 9-metre steel bollard walls, vehicle barriers, and technological surveillance intended to block smugglers and migrants.

In Arizona, federal officials continue to press forward with border infrastructure despite opposition from the Tohono O’odham Nation, an Indigenous tribe that argues the barrier is both unwanted and unnecessary. Meanwhile, in Texas, the construction plans have encountered numerous lawsuits and bipartisan pushback from sheriffs, elected officials, tour guides, environmental groups, and landowners.

To accelerate the wall-building process, the administration has bypassed numerous regulations and statutes aimed at protecting the environment, archaeology, and wildlife, citing an urgent necessity in areas designated by the US Department of Homeland Security as having "high illegal entry".

However, the plaintiffs dispute this justification regarding the Big Bend region in their lawsuit. Citing historical data from US Customs and Border Protection, they point out that the Big Bend area—which spans about 805km, or roughly one-quarter of the total US-Mexico border—accounted for only about 1 percent of total border arrests.