A West Texas revolt is erasing hundreds of miles of President Trump's planned border wall.

Why it matters: The opposition in the Big Bend sector, which includes 517 miles of the southern border along the Rio Grande, is targeting the physical steel wall, not border security in general.

The latest: Advocacy groups and a West Texas resident sued the Trump administration last week over allegations it bypassed environmental laws to speed up building efforts, per the Texas Tribune.

State of play: Since last October, there have been about 42,800 encounters with border crossers at the southern border. Just 1,080 were in the Big Bend sector.

Catch up quick: After community pushback, the mileage of planned steel barriers in the Big Bend sector has been reduced to roughly 175 miles, according to No Big Bend Wall, a new local coalition tracking the mapping.

• "Regionally, we're a united voice," David Keller, a Presidio County resident and archeologist, tells Axios. "Republican, Democrat, Libertarian: doesn't matter. We all don't want it."
• The coalition's list of grievances with physical barriers includes degradation to vulnerable watersheds and archeological sites, disruption of animal migrations and the region's famous dark night skies, and hits to private property values.

The intrigue: Gov. Greg Abbott was assured by Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks that there wouldn't be a physical wall in Big Bend National Park or Big Bend Ranch State Park, a source familiar with the talks tells Axios.

The other side: "CBP continues to coordinate with the National Park Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and other federal and state agencies, throughout the planning of border barrier and technology deployments, in order to achieve Border Patrol's operational priorities," CBP spokesperson Hilton Beckham said in a statement.

Friction point: While some state and public parks have seen some relief from the physical wall plans, private land owners have already started receiving letters from the Army Corps of Engineers about leasing agreements for construction access.

The bottom line: The wins so far aren't enough for some Big Bend residents.

Go deeper

Texas employment growth slowed sharply in February, per a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Why it matters: Lower immigration is constraining the state's labor supply, while higher productivity is leading to less demand for labor.

• "Meanwhile, high oil prices are expected to boost state economic activity only if they are sustained," said Luis Torres, Dallas Fed senior business economist.

The big picture: Texas added 3,800 jobs in February, growing an annualized 0.3 percent.

• The Dallas Fed now expects Texas jobs will increase roughly 1% in 2026, Torres said.

Zoom out: Job losses in February were reported in multiple sectors, including trade and transportation, oil and gas, and construction, education and health services, which had been growing at a solid pace, per the report.

• Other sectors, including professional and business services and manufacturing, posted job gains.

Zoom in: Dallas registered nearly flat employment growth in February at 0.1%. Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio all posted job losses, per the report.

🚗 Tesla is expanding its robotaxi service to Dallas and Houston, according to a social media post from the company. (TechCrunch)

🗳️ Dallas County election officials say they're making changes aimed at smoother municipal and school district elections after problems during the March primary. (KERA)

🖼️ The Dallas Museum of Art acquired six works from the Dallas Art Fair over the weekend. (Surface)

Texas is home to some of America's lowest tippers, according to Toast data.

The big picture: Nationwide, tips at full-service restaurants averaged 19.2% in Q4 2025, the same as the previous quarter, per Toast's latest restaurant trends report.

• "After a pullback in full-service restaurant tips in Q2 2025, the average has leveled out," Toast's Brian Koerber wrote in the report.

Yes, but: The average tip left at Texas restaurants in Q4 2025 was 18.5% of the bill.

• Texas had the eighth lowest tip rate among the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Zoom out: Delaware, West Virginia, New Hampshire and Indiana had some of the highest tip rates, with diners leaving roughly 21% or higher on average.

The other side: At the bottom of the list for overall tipping are California, Washington, D.C., and Washington state, where averages run under 18%.

The fine print: The report is based on data from restaurants using the Toast platform.

• Cash tips aren't included.

The bottom line: Tipping culture may be under scrutiny, but diners' habits are holding steady.