Lauren Villagran

More unofficially, local elected officials who have met directly with local Big Bend sector Border Patrol leadership say that both leadership and agents on the ground are not in favor of

of a 30-foot steel barrier through most of the sector.

That's because there are natural barriers of, you know, these sprawling mountains and canyons.

In some places, the river is wide and the desert is extreme, extreme weather.

It's huge.

And they say that that is a natural barrier to illegal crossings.

Dana, I looked at the data and

The Big Bend sector, which represents one quarter of the U.S.-Mexico border, routinely has the lowest level of crossings.

In fiscal 2025, when there were more than 237,000 illegal crossings or migrant apprehensions along the whole border, the Big Bend sector represented just 1%.

Yes, definitely coming from U.S.

taxpayers.

Trump's promise that Mexico would pay for it never did pan out.

This is not the very last stretch of border fencing to be erected.

There are plans all along the border for new fencing in areas that previously had none.

For example, there is a mountain in El Paso, Texas, right at the U.S.-Mexico border that is getting additional physical barriers built.

The agency is looking at physical barriers in the Rio Grande Valley and in other parts of the border.

But locals here say that the Big Bend is one of the largest and last completely untouched landscapes ever.

You know, we were there and there was nothing obstructing the view into Mexico.

You know, the mountains that are on the U.S.

side of the border stretch deep into Mexico, making approaching the border in most of the sector quite difficult.