The Trump administration’s plan to erect new border infrastructure in the Big Bend region of West Texas has encountered strong resistance from landowners, environmental groups, and some local officials. Opponents argue that the project could obstruct access to remote areas along the Rio Grande.
Due to the Rio Grande’s role as both the international boundary and a dynamic river system, border infrastructure in this region is typically planned inland, away from the riverbank. Newsweek has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for a comment.
The Claim
Isaac Saul, founder of the political newsletter Tangle, discussed federal border wall construction on The Bulwark podcast with Tim Miller. He claimed the construction would lead to the U.S. leaving significant amounts of land to Mexico. A clip from this podcast was shared on X, rapidly amassing over 375,000 views.
During the podcast, Saul stated, “According to DHS, where the wall is going to be, the acreage that will now be on the Mexico side, it looks like they’re about to basically put Americans on the other side of 280,000 acres of Texas land.” Saul added, “So, Americans are going to be fenced out. We’re giving some land to Mexico? We’re giving 280,000 acres of land and the most important water source in West Texas to Mexico.” Tim Miller then summarized the scenario by asking: “Territorial concessions to Mexico were happening under the Trump administration?”
Saul confirmed, “Yeah, territorial concessions to Mexico.” He further explained how his family’s multi-generational West Texas ranch received an eminent domain notice, placing a barrier through their property and limiting direct access to the Rio Grande.
The Facts
In a follow-up email to Newsweek, Saul retracted the use of “territorial concession,” clarifying that Tim Miller first introduced the term, and The Bulwark framed it during the interview. Saul noted that the 280,000-acre figure was derived from analyzing maps of the proposed wall routes from the Department of Homeland Security using AI.
Saul explained: “I actually came to the figure by inputting the maps into Claude and asking for estimates of how much land Texans would be cut off from (a rare use case of AI in my work I found helpful).” He emphasized that Americans are being separated from their own land and this configuration grants Mexican agricultural workers easier access to the river than American landowners on the opposite side of a 30-foot barrier.
Building border barriers inland from the Rio Grande places thousands of acres of American soil south of the physical fence. However, this does not modify the international boundary or transfer legal ownership to Mexico. Under the Boundary Treaty of 1970 between the U.S. and Mexico, the official border line remains fixed along the river’s normal channel.
To avoid interfering with flood control and river flow, federal contractors build back from the banks according to guidelines set by the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC). Erecting a barrier north of the river does not amount to a territorial concession nor does it assign sovereignty or jurisdiction to the Mexican government.
The U.S. federal government can acquire private property for border infrastructure through negotiated purchases or eminent domain, with compensation requirements enforced by the Fifth Amendment and overseen by the U.S. Department of Justice. While dividing private land complicates access to acreage or water rights for owners, it does not alter title or territorial control. Federal officials maintain access rights where easements or land titles have been obtained, although access parameters may differ by individual property parcel.
The Ruling
False. Constructing border walls north of the Rio Grande presents significant access challenges for Texas property owners and places thousands of American acres between the fence and the river. Nevertheless, the U.S. is not ceding land to Mexico. Per treaty, the international border remains at the Rio Grande. All land north of the river channel remains U.S. sovereign territory, and the Mexican government gains no legal rights, sovereignty, or title to the area.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: John Fitzpatrick and Cristina Diciu.
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