OPINION: No Border Wall is Needed in Big Bend National Park

Original Comic by Max Barraza, Skyline Cartoonist

By: Eero Schauman, Skyline Contributor 

ALPINE – Having been all over the country, seen the biggest cities and several national parks, nothing has compared to Big Bend and now that experience is at risk. 

The purity and uniqueness of Big Bend is now being threatened. With the oncoming wall, many parts of the park are at risk of being ceded to Mexico or restricted to visitors, including the river itself.  

The Trump Administration is making moves towards both Big Bend National Park and state park, Big Bend Ranch, continuing the trend of construction in wildlife reserves and other protected areas.  

Just a few weeks ago, the Department of Homeland Security waived 28 laws covering environmental protection and historical and archeological preservation to move forward on the project. For residents of Alpine, the significance of Big Bend has always made the need for these protections abundantly clear.  

Encompassing over a thousand square miles and running along 118 miles of the Rio Grande, the park itself represents a huge challenge to construction logistics and planning. Compounding those challenges, the border wall policy feels particularly unnecessary within Big Bend.  

It also seems unnecessary, given the ‘success’ of Trump Administration efforts to curtail illegal crossings. According to The Texas Tribune, over the course of 2023-2025, the number of crossings in the park dropped by 74%, from 11,823 crossings to notably lower 3,096.  

With immigration rates in the park already dropping pre-Trump 47, installing a garish, industrial wall which would only deface the natural beauty of the park seems like a political move, a statement of control and power, rather than an attempt to curb immigration. 

Locals and elected officials have been speaking out against the impending construction in the park, swarming social media apps like Tik Tok and Instagram with posts expressing both anger and concern. With the federal government pursuing this construction in the name of security and protection, residents are uniting behind the slogan, “Protect the park,” and I agree.  

The wall is unwelcome and the people this affects are much more concerned with protecting and preserving our natural world from the pains of pollution and human interference than they are with immigrants illegally entering the country. 

With millions of dollars being spent on building the wall in just one portion of the park alone, those funds could be invested in hiring and development, which would enhance an important source of economic benefits to the region.  

Many were hopeful that the firing of former Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, would at least slow down the wall, but according to cbp.gov the wall is still steadily moving and planned, with no signs of stopping. 

Wholly, the region has taken a stand against the wall. Elected officials of the region, like the five sheriffs of Hudspeth, Culberson, Brewster, Presidio, and Terrell Counties signed a statement to “encourage federal and state policymakers to consult directly... the long-term interests of our communities.” Many small businesses in Alpine, like PrintCo, the Alcove Social, and Cowdog, have also taken a stand, posting flyers with a link to a petition titled Save Big Bend. 

Visit this site if you’re interested in signing: https://c.org/vD6Ds9VnQH