MARFA, Texas (KOSA) - A coalition of Big Bend landowners and Conserve Big Bend filed a federal lawsuit Monday challenging the legal authority the Department of Homeland Security is using to fast-track border wall and infrastructure construction across the region.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, argues that DHS cannot invoke its expedited border construction powers because the Big Bend Sector does not meet the legal standard for an area of "high illegal entry."The plaintiffs announced the lawsuit during a news conference at the Presidio County Courthouse in Marfa.

At the center of the case is Section 102 of the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act.