# Trump’s dumb border wall

https://mins.news/en/item/24357

- The Verge, 2026-08-17 16:30 UTC
- Politics
- Original: https://www.theverge.com/report/980933/trump-border-wall-big-bend-arizona-cottonwood-tree-sit

> The Department of Homeland Security has revived construction of Trump’s wall across remote areas of Texas, Arizona, and Tohono O’odham Nation lands, waiving environmental laws in the process. In Arizona, activists are occupying a centuries-old cottonwood tree threatened by the work. The article argues that the physical wall is environmentally destructive and unnecessary alongside an already extensive surveillance network and record-low southwestern border encounters.

## Related coverage

- [Trump pauses controversial border construction in Texas national park](https://mins.news/en/item/24634) — France 24, 2026-08-18
- [Trump administration pauses contentious border construction in Texas' Big Bend National Park](https://mins.news/en/item/24460) — The Associated Press, 2026-08-17
- [Bulldozers tear through Big Bend National Park as Trump’s border work advances](https://mins.news/en/video/22555) — Guardian News, 2026-08-14
