‘If we had rolled over, the wall would be up’: Texas landowners sue and protest against Trump’s $46 billion border project

The message from the Trump administration has been clear: It is moving ahead with a $46 billion border wall project stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. But in Texas’ Big Bend region, the administration has run up against intense opposition from landowners, many of whom are unwilling to cede parts of their property for what they see as a waste of taxpayer dollars. That resistance is complicating President Donald Trump’s signature infrastructure project in a fight that has become a test of just how far the administration will go to fulfill its vision of a fortified southern border. The administration has committed billions of dollars and waived environmental and other protections to plow ahead with the project despite the region’s historically low illegal crossings, its formidable natural barriers and a surge of bipartisan opposition that has scrambled traditional border politics. The federal government has sweeping authority to force the project through. But a judge has now paused construction across the region, giving a major boost to landowners who have sought to…