A section of border wall that the federal government originally planned to build on a levee next to the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge could end up cutting through the refuge. The shift, proposed during a hearing in federal court, is an attempt to resolve a legal dispute in which government contractors are accused of trespassing on land belonging to the irrigation district.
During the Oct. 14 hearing, Duke said the government was "looking into, basically, moving the wall from its current expected path" and instead placing it "through the wildlife refuge." He acknowledged the change would probably generate "additional litigation from other interested parties."
The irrigation district sued contractors Spencer Construction LLC and Royal Concrete Products LLC in September, alleging trespassing during construction of 2.8 miles of wall on a levee adjacent to the refuge. A state district court in Hidalgo County issued a temporary restraining order on July 30, later extended by a federal judge. The order remains in place.
Anthony Stambaugh, general manager of the irrigation district, testified in August that contractors did not ask permission to enter the property. He said a wall on the levee would narrow access to an irrigation canal, making maintenance difficult. The district's attorney, Lance Kirby, had proposed relocating the wall 15 to 20 feet south. After Duke's announcement, Kirby said, "It's music to my ears. It's what we've been hoping for and asking for all along."
A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not confirm the potential route change but said the agency was aware of the lawsuit. "CBP remains committed to enhancing border security at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, while continuing coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other relevant federal and state partners," the spokesperson said. Duke argued that Texas trespass law cannot prevent the federal government from building a border wall on land it does not own, and that a wall at the proposed location was "inevitable" even if the government had to condemn the land.
The Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, a 2,000-acre haven along the Rio Grande, has been a target for border wall construction since President Donald Trump first advanced his border security agenda in 2017. In 2019, lawmakers secured protections barring the use of appropriated funds for a wall there. During Trump's second term, CBP has bypassed those restrictions through the One Big, Beautiful Bill, a signature funding bill not subject to the appropriations process.
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from Laredo who helped secure the earlier protections, said he was "concerned by reports that the federal government may reroute approximately 2.8 miles of border wall through the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge." He has added language to the Homeland Security Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2027 that would restore the restrictions, but Congress is unlikely to vote on the bill until the end of the year. "DHS and CBP need to be transparent about any proposed change," Cuellar said.