Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham Orders Halt to Border‑Wall Land Clearing

Texas General Land Office Commissioner Dawn Buckingham sent cease‑and‑desist letters to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and contractor Barnard Construction, alleging the firm illegally cleared more than a mile of state‑owned land in southern Presidio County for the planned Big Bend border wall. The GLO said the clearing damaged leased grazing land owned by Trans Pecos Ice LLC, devaluing the lease and reducing future revenue for Texas schoolchildren, and warned that no land modifications are permitted without agency consent.

In Jeff Davis County, officials are negotiating a road‑use agreement with Barnard Construction for work on Chispa Road, a key access route for the wall. The draft agreement would require the contractor to submit a road‑improvement plan, protect private landowners, and post a $3 million performance bond to cover potential damages. County Judge Curtis Evans, while opposing the wall, supports the agreement to ensure any road work proceeds under county oversight, reflecting the tension between local opposition and the inevitability of construction.

The two developments illustrate ongoing disputes over the border‑wall project’s impact on state land, local infrastructure, and community interests in West Texas.