In June 2026, Joel Ruiz confronted contractors on his riverfront property, forcing a pause in the construction of a steel barrier that would run along the Rio Grande in San Ygnacio.
Ruiz, who has lived beside the river for almost a century, recalls the town’s 1951 triumph when a petition saved San Ygnacio from the proposed Falcon Dam, a story still etched in local memory.
The wall’s builders cleared vegetation, damaged irrigation lines, and blocked a boat ramp, threatening not only Ruiz’s fishing business but also the San Ygnacio Bird and Butterfly Sanctuary established in 1973; environmental safeguards were waived by DHS.
Attorney Ricardo de Anda has filed a Fifth Amendment suit claiming the government failed to condemn the land, and a temporary injunction has been granted, but the case will be heard in federal court next month.