Texas lawmakers urge Gov. Greg Abbott to intervene with plans for border barrier work at Big Bend National Park

Texas state lawmakers asked Governor Greg Abbott to stop the Trump administration’s plans to build border barrier installations at Big Bend National Park, urging him to press the federal government to reconsider the project. The request was delivered in a letter dated Thursday, according to The Hill.

The letter was signed by 44 Texas lawmakers, including members of both major parties. They asked Abbott to “swiftly use every available avenue” to call on the Trump administration to halt the barrier work in the protected national park area, the report said.

The lawmakers’ effort focuses on a specific location and agency involvement. The letter targets border barrier construction associated with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a federal agency that oversees parts of the U.S. border enforcement system, and it calls for federal action that would prevent installations from moving forward at Big Bend National Park.

The move reflects a broader state-federal dispute over how border enforcement infrastructure is implemented in locations governed by federal land management authorities. Texas officials and lawmakers have periodically sought to influence federal border operations, while states have also argued that federal decisions about land use and enforcement can impose real-world impacts on communities and jurisdictions.

Under the lawmakers’ request, Abbott would act through state channels available to him, which could include communications with federal officials, coordination with federal partners, and seeking adjustments through administrative processes available to governors. The letter does not itself change federal permitting or contracting authority, but it is intended to influence the federal decision-making timeline.

It was not immediately clear from the reporting how the administration’s plans are structured, what specific installation features are contemplated, or what stage the effort has reached at the time of the letter. The dispute is likely to turn on federal authority over border security activities and the extent to which federal land protections and environmental review obligations, if any, apply to the specific work proposed.

If the request advances, Abbott’s office would be expected to communicate the letter’s demands to federal counterparts, and further developments would likely depend on whether U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other federal entities revise, delay, or proceed with the border barrier plan at Big Bend National Park.