The Trump administration is losing its longtime base over the continuing dispute over the southern border wall. After years of shifting goals, this border issue is exposing unaddressed fissures in the foundation of President Donald Trump’s support.
In West Texas, the Trump administration is poised to begin construction on another installment of a 30-foot border wall with paved roads, vehicle barriers, and border protection technology. These new construction projects aim to improve border security near Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park. Former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem ordered this installment at the national park before her departure in March, the Washington Examiner reported.
Customs and Border Protection’s website has been changing periodically. It currently reads that there will be a 2-mile physical border wall between Big Bend Ranch State Park and the U.S.-Mexico border. A resident of Redford, Texas, an area between the state park and the Rio Grande, has raised concerns about what’s actually happening at the border.
Charlie Angell, founder of Angell Expeditions, an outfitting and tour-guide company on the border, told the Washington Examiner that the possible border wall threatens his business and his land — all while government officials continue to change their plans.
Construction materials have been arriving near the Big Bend area in the last few weeks. Angell has concerns that the confusion around the border wall may lead to issues implementing the Trump administration’s plan to secure the border from illegal aliens.
The Texas Tribune estimates that about 400 landowners in the Big Bend region alone have received letters asking them to allow the government to survey the land, or run the risk of losing it through eminent domain, which they say is a tough pill to swallow. This is especially true in Angell’s case, because his business relies on access to the river.
If the federal government wants to continue to win on the immigration issue, it needs to publicly address people such as Angell whose livelihoods are being threatened. Following through on his promise to secure the border gives the Republicans a good image going into the midterm elections, but the Trump administration needs to work to reconcile border security with his other goal of American prosperity.
On another front of the administration’s public image problems, Catholic landowners in New Mexico are voicing concerns about the border wall, which is supposed to cut through a Catholic religious site. The Pillar, a Catholic news outlet, reported that the federal government is pursuing a lawsuit against the Diocese of Las Cruces on the border of Texas, Mexico, and New Mexico, hoping to take a 1 1/2-mile-by-250-foot tract of land for the wall.
The diocese owns Mount Cristo Rey, a rugged mountain on the border. On Mount Cristo Rey is the 29-foot marble statue of Christ the King, a popular pilgrimage site for Christians in the region. Many diocesan officials and locals are worried the government’s lawsuit will result in the loss of a total of 14.2 of its 200 acres by eminent domain.
It would be easy to spin the Cristo Rey dispute as an instance of Trump’s anti-Christian lean, but the truth is not so inflammatory. The Diocese of Las Cruces claims that Mount Cristo Rey already has enough natural and federal protection from illegal border crossers — especially because they already came to an agreement in October 2021 to allow the federal government to build a dirt road and install sensors along the border.
The Cristo Rey border dispute, just like with Angell, is an issue of changing government demands. Yet, both Angell and Mount Cristo Rey’s situations stand as a PR bruise on the administration’s face.
SUPREME COURT MUST REFORM IMMIGRATION SYSTEM AFTER LANDMARK RULING
Although it is being reported that support for Trump’s immigration and border policies is slipping, the Trump administration needs to recognize that it was the same voter base that voted them into office that is now wary of what enforcement looks like. The administration was voted into office to undo what former President Joe Biden did in allowing illegal immigrants to flood the country.
If Trump wishes to regain its support among anti-illegal immigration voters, the best thing he can do is to ensure that the border will be secure even if a future president wants to return to Biden-era immigration policies. Trump should not leave law enforcement up to chance, especially because he has the ability to put a stop to illegal immigration at its source: the border. And the key to maintaining a Republican majority after the midterm elections, which will allow the administration to continue working on the border, is to address the public image issues plaguing the southern border.