1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

I am writing again to express my strong opposition to the construction of physical border barriers in the Big Bend region and throughout the borderlands of West Texas. I have previously made clear that I oppose physical barriers in this area—not only within Big Bend National Park, but throughout the surrounding borderlands, including areas extending toward Presidio. These landscapes are irreplaceable, and I do not believe destroying them is an appropriate or effective response to border management challenges. After reading the recent reporting in Texas Monthly about the proposed projects and the estimated $4.3 billion cost, I am even more concerned. The idea that we would spend billions of dollars blasting apart mountains, canyons, and remote desert landscapes in order to build roads, vehicle barriers, and other infrastructure is deeply troubling. It also raises a fundamental question: does this approach actually accomplish the stated goal? The natural terrain of this region has always been a significant barrier. Big Bend and the surrounding borderlands are difficult, remote, and challenging landscapes. Destroying those natural barriers in order to create roads and access routes so that we can then build structures intended to restrict movement seems not only environmentally destructive but logically inconsistent. If the goal is to make the area more difficult to cross, why are we creating more roads, more access points, and more pathways through terrain that currently presents substantial natural obstacles? It appears that this project may unintentionally make parts of the border region more accessible rather than less accessible. This raises serious concerns about whether this is truly an effective border security strategy or whether it is primarily an expensive symbolic project designed to demonstrate action without delivering meaningful results. At a cost of billions of dollars, taxpayers deserve evidence that a project will actually improve security rather than simply create massive construction contracts while permanently damaging public lands. Our national parks and borderlands are not disposable. Once these landscapes are blasted apart, the damage cannot be undone. I urge you to oppose funding and construction of unnecessary physical barriers in the Big Bend region and to demand evidence-based border policies that protect both our communities and our natural heritage. Thank you for your attention to this issue and for representing the interests of your constituents.