30+ Laws Waived, $7B Spent, 0 Votes: Stop Admin Abuse in Big Bend

As your constituent, I am writing to demand an immediate Inspector General investigation and congressional oversight into the Department of Homeland Security's abuse of Section 102 waiver authority to repeatedly bypass federal law and fund border construction through Big Bend National Park and the Rio Grande's protected Lower Canyons. This is a dangerous, escalating pattern of dodging statutory authority: - Feb 17, 2026: DHS waived 28 environmental and cultural laws across the Big Bend Sector. - May 15, 2026: DHS waived 29 additional laws—including NEPA, the Endangered Species Act, and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act—for 60 miles of the Lower Canyons. - June 2026: DHS expanded waivers, suspending over 31 laws for further construction. - July 27, 2026: DHS extended waivers a fourth time from Big Bend to Lake Amistad, adding the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and Wilderness Act. By repeatedly invoking Section 102 as the project's footprint grows, DHS is intentionally making Congress and the courts irrelevant. The spending is equally alarming. DHS awarded $1.7 billion in May for vehicle barriers and 200 miles of patrol roads in the park, then $2.6 billion in June for the Lower Canyons—the single costliest border contract in U.S. history. Total regional awards now stand at roughly $7 billion. Yet, with 1,500-foot canyon walls serving as natural barriers, park apprehensions accounted for a mere 0.045% of all border encounters in FY2025. This is performative spending at taxpayer expense. This overreach has united leaders who rarely agree. All five sheriffs along the Big Bend border region oppose the barriers. All 14 Texas border county judges have formally challenged the secrecy and demanded an immediate accounting of DHS's unchecked footprint in their communities. Seven former Big Bend National Park superintendents have urged DHS to reject the waivers. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) has demanded that DHS pause operations and directly answer to affected local landowners before steamrolling ahead. The Center for Biological Diversity has already sued, arguing DHS is exercising power Congress never gave it. Local tourism generates an estimated $56.8 million a year for surrounding communities, part of $4.6 billion in annual visitor spending regionwide—all of it now at risk for a construction project even Texas Republicans are questioning. I urge you to take concrete legislative action: 1. Investigate: Launch formal IG and congressional probes into DHS's waiver expansion and Big Bend spending. 2. Defund: Block funding for border construction within national parks and Wild and Scenic Rivers. 3. Reform: Restrict Section 102 waiver authority to prevent repeated overrides of federal law without congressional oversight. 4. Pause: Call on DHS to halt construction pending ongoing litigation and consult local leadership. Big Bend belongs to all Americans, not a construction contract. Please act before more of it is destroyed.