SAN YGNACIO, Texas — Residents of this historic Rio Grande town are seeking a permanent exemption from border wall construction after contractors stopped working in the area for several months, leaving the community’s future access to the river uncertain. More than 100 people attended a town-square gathering Oct. 10, where 174 residents signed a petition asking U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar to help prevent further wall construction and the placement of floating barriers, or buoys, in the river. San Ygnacio has fewer than 500 residents and sits in rural Zapata County, across the Rio Grande from Mexico. “We have been able to keep these contractors out of San Ygnacio for four and a half months, and we have preserved our river access here,” resident and organizer Elsa Hull told the crowd. She said the town’s river access is currently the only such access point in the county. The halt is not a guarantee that work will not resume. A 30-foot steel wall has already been built along the river on the town’s northwest side, and land near the San Ygnacio Bird and Butterfly Sanctuary was cleared this summer. The sanctuary itself has not been disturbed, residents said. Two residents, Frank Biscoe and 90-year-old veteran Joel Ruiz, have sued the federal government, alleging an unlawful taking of their borderland property. Hull, who was arrested this summer while protesting contractors’ work, said the county attorney met with federal officials, the Army Corps of Engineers and contractors and told them to stay off land the county considers nonfederal. Customs and Border Protection has disputed residents’ claims about ownership. The agency has said the land being cleared in San Ygnacio belongs to the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission, and that it coordinated with the commission to secure access rights. CBP says it does not build on private property without permission or other legal access. Cuellar, a Democrat who represents the region and is the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, told residents he has sought to buy the town more time. He said that if Democrats win control of the House in the Nov. 3 election and he becomes committee chairman, he would push to bar the use of appropriated funds for construction in places such as San Ygnacio. Congress approved $46.5 billion for border wall construction in 2025 as part of the law commonly called the Big Beautiful Bill, without exemptions for the area. Cuellar has previously helped secure exemptions for sites in the Rio Grande Valley, including La Lomita Chapel, Bentsen-State Park, Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge and historic cemeteries. Environmental advocates also oppose the proposed barriers. Tricia Cortez, executive director of the Laredo-based Rio Grande International Study Center, said walls and buoys threaten river lands and wildlife habitat, and called the spending wasteful while crossings are near lows. She described the community’s organizing and legal challenges as a source of hope. San Ygnacio, founded in the 1830s, has confronted federal plans before. In 1951, residents petitioned President Harry Truman and other officials as Falcon Dam was being built, arguing the town would remain above the reservoir. The town stayed in place, while nearby Zapata was relocated. At the October gathering, residents—including 75-year-old Susan Salazar Solis, whose parents signed the 1951 petition—called for continued access to the river for fishing and other community uses. The new petition asks that the town be spared both a wall and river buoys, but any lasting change would depend on federal decisions and action by Congress.