A tall steel barrier rises over the brush in Texas' Hudspeth County. Erected in mid-September, it is the first piece of border wall in Texas' Big Bend region, a remote stretch of territory where landowners have mounted a major fight against President Donald Trump's signature infrastructure project.
Landowners worry that the wall and other border infrastructure will reshape and disfigure an area that inspires deep devotion for its rugged beauty, where formidable natural barriers like towering limestone cliffs abut the Rio Grande. They argue the wall is a waste of money when the number of people crossing the border has plummeted. The opposition is bipartisan, scrambling border politics at a pivotal moment before the midterm elections.
