Wall to Nowhere

I blame Bill and Shrub. And Trump, of course.

“Protesters gather Wednesday [Aug. 12, 2026] near where the first bulldozer was seen inside Big Bend National Park, vowing to keep fighting against construction. Ashley Killough/CNN”

In 1996, Bill Clinton signed a horrible immigration bill, acronym IIRAIRA. Section 102 of the law authorized the construction of border barriers in the San Diego area, and waived protections of the Endangered Species Act to speed construction.

In 2005, George Bush (aka “Shrub”) signed the REAL ID Act, which included an amendment to IIRAIRA Sec. 102 waiving ALL LEGAL REQUIREMENTS to expedite construction of border barriers and roads.

In 2006, Shrub signed the Secure Fence Act, which expanded and mandated more border barriers.

Now, in one of the most remote, desolate and beautiful sections of America, the Big Bend on the Rio Grande in Texas, contractors hired by Trump are ripping up sensitive ecosystems, purely for profit, not for protection against invading migrants.

• CNN, Aug. 13, 2026: “The towering cliffs, jagged mountain tops, and punishing desert climate of the Big Bend region in Texas have long proved to be the best barrier the United States could have with Mexico. For generations, the idea of needing to build physical structures to stop illegal migration was considered “insane,” as one former superintendent of Big Bend National Park said. But now the expansive reach of President Donald Trump’s southern border plan has stretched into this remote region that sees only about 1% of unauthorized crossing apprehensions. Bulldozers are clearing land in the beloved national park, where wildlife roams and the scenery has been untouched for thousands of years.

  “We didn’t have to worry about any type of barrier. We had a God-made barrier,” said Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland of Terrell County, a vast and sparsely populated area northeast of the park. He spent 26 years in the US Border Patrol, hearing little if any talk of needing extra infrastructure in the area where he grew up, he said. … Earlier this month, bulldozers were videoed uprooting trees and shoveling dirt as wild animals trotted by. They were doing preliminary work ahead of the budgeted $1.72 billion main construction project designated for the area inside Big Bend National Park, the agency said. … Those with concerns or outright opposition to the work in this remote desert wilderness run the gamut from a few elected Republicans to young activists, sweeping in a pro-border control sheriff and a retired National Park Service superintendent. … If there is no stopping, retired park superintendent Bob Krumenaker said what could happen in Big Bend would rival the flooding of Hetch Hetchy Valley a century ago, an event that changed arguments about preserving the environment. It’s why he labels the whole plan “insane.” … “I totally support a secure border in Big Bend, but this is the least active place in the country for illegal border crossings,” he said. “This is purely political, and it will, it risks destroying one of the nation’s greatest places. It’s just horrible.” … Critics say most statewide elected Republican officials have been too quiet in their condemnation of the border barrier construction projects because they fear the wrath of Trump’s criticism on his signature issue of border security. “The one person who is supposed to stand for Texas right now, our governor, is silent,” resident Jess Bartko said. “What they are doing is actively waging a war against our parks, our public lands, our community and our livelihoods.” … “The land remembers, the water remembers, it will remember us and our fight,” Joan Escamilla told her fellow supporters of the national park. “You can bury my heart in the Rio Grande.”

On a personal note: Although I was born and raised in Denver, I lived in Texas for a total of 23 years. Some years ago a buddy and I camped near the Solitario, very close to the Big Bend. We ran short on water, so I ended up looking like this:

The Gate of Dehydration

That’s all for now. THANK YOU! to all subscribers, new, free and paid.

Comments always welcome.

NO WALL! NO ICE!

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