<p>CBP commissioner Rodney Scott says $46bn Texas project is justified amid court-ordered pause on wall’s construction</p><p>The Trump administration’s top border official defended plans to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/18/trump-administration-big-bend-border-wall-texas-construction">build a wall</a> and other infrastructure in the Big Bend of Texas despite mounting opposition against the project and a court-ordered <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/02/big-bend-national-park-border-wall-halt">pause</a> on construction, saying his goal of fortifying the country’s borders was “non-negotiable”.</p><p>Rodney Scott, the commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), said the $46bn wall project was justified despite a bipartisan coalition of landowners, local businesses and environmentalists who view it as a waste of taxpayer money that could be <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/14/bulldozers-big-bend-national-park-trump">destructive to a region</a> with historically low migrant crossings, in an exclusive interview with the Associated Press.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/23/trump-border-official-big-bend-border-wall">Continue reading...</a>