Trump administration pauses Big Bend border wall project
What's new: Customs and Border Protection halted work in the Texas park while its chief conducts an on-site review.
The Trump administration temporarily paused a contested border wall project in Big Bend National Park in southern Texas as Customs and Border Protection chief Rodney Scott travels to the area for a personal, on-the-ground review. The construction plan has drawn bipartisan criticism from opponents who argue it would scar a pristine environmental area and is unnecessary because the region’s remote, rugged terrain already deters migrants and smugglers. Congress gave the administration $46 billion last summer for a wall stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, and officials have moved quickly while waiving numerous regulations. Scott has said the first layer of the barrier is expected to be finished by the end of next year.