Construction on a planned border wall in Texas' Big Bend National Park has been paused following months of opposition from various groups. The administration had invoked a section of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, which permits the government to bypass laws that impede border wall construction.
Despite the administration's plan, migrant encounters have been historically rare in the specific section of the border within the park. This area comprises about 118 miles of the Big Bend Sector, which stretches 517 miles from Sierra Blanca, Texas, to Sanderson, Texas. This sector accounts for approximately one-quarter of the entire U.S.-Mexico border.
Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) indicates a significant decrease in border crossings within the Big Bend Sector. Between fiscal years 2023 and 2025, apprehensions dropped by 74%, from 11,823 to 3,096. In fiscal year 2025, the 3,096 apprehensions in this sector represented only 1.3% of the total 237,538 migrant encounters along the entire U.S.-Mexico border. The proposed border wall would have covered only a small fraction of the Big Bend Sector.