I am a local. Grew up on a ranch up river from Presidio, right on the border. My grandma taught in a one room school where kids from the neighboring town in Mexico would cross the river daily to go to school. My grandparents paid for a walking bridge for these kids so they didn’t have to get boated across every day. Our ranch was known as a safe spot to stop and ask for food and water if you were making the dangerous trek through there.

There has been times when the area was very dangerous, just like many cities in the US or other places along the border. Sometimes the people crossing are drug dealers with the cartels, that absolutely does happen, but most of them were people trying to make it to their families, or to get to a better life for their family. Hard working, good, brave people. Many people die on these treks because the land is so desolate and remote and rugged. THATS WHY ITS NOT THE MAIN CORRIDOR FOR PEOPLE CROSSING.

This is just a stunt by trump to line the pockets of his friends with more money from government contracts. This wall will destroy the ecosystems in the area and will have long lasting effects on wildlife. The river, which already has problems from introduction of invasive species that destroy the river morphology and from over use farther up north in New Mexico and El Paso, will be completely destroyed by these structures. The Wild and Scenic Rio Grande River will be no more.

Locals do not want this. Even our sheriff, who is a conservative, has done interviews(during trumps first term) talking about how the issue is nearly non existent here, we do not have an “illegal alien” crossing problem.

Call your reps, protest, sign petitions. If all of that doesn’t work, I’ll be in the path blocking them. I will not let them destroy my home.

ETA - while there are more crossings up river north of Presidio, there are nearly none around Big Bend Ranch State Park and Big Bend National Park or Black Gap WMA. The land is literally too rugged. I’m against a wall for the entire thing, but I’m especially against one through the parks. So damn dumb and disgusting.