The Trump administration has paused construction of its US-Mexico border wall through a national park in Texas, almost a fortnight after the arrival of earthmoving equipment to the remote location sparked a bipartisan outcry.
Rodney Scott, US Customs and Border Protection commissioner, said in a social media post on Monday that he had the previous night “put a pause” on all construction activity in Big Bend National Park, which includes a section of the Rio Grande that represents part of the boundary between the US and Mexico. Donald Trump has made stopping illegal immigration central to his political agenda.
Scott said he had arrived in Texas and was headed to the park to “do a personal evaluation, talk to some stakeholders, talk to local law enforcement in that area” and vowed there would be more information to follow this week. The Big Bend sector, which incorporates the national park, accounted for a small fraction of apprehensions made nationally in the year to September 2025.