Supreme Court Lets Trump Resume Big Bend Border Wall Construction

The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to resume construction of new border wall segments in the remote Big Bend region of southwest Texas, including inside Big Bend National Park, lifting a lower-court order that had halted work.^[1]

In an unsigned order issued Monday, November 9, the justices put on hold an October injunction from a federal district judge that had blocked construction while a lawsuit by a church preservation group, a river guide and an environmental organization moves forward.^[1] The majority pointed to a federal statute that lets the homeland security secretary waive environmental and conservation laws for border barriers, signaling what it called Congress's clear preference for fast construction over the cultural and ecological harms cited by the challengers.^[1] Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson publicly noted her dissent, but no justice signed a written opinion.^[1]

The case reached the Supreme Court after opponents of the Big Bend project argued in district court that wall construction would damage historic religious sites, disrupt river-based livelihoods and fragment sensitive desert and river habitats along a largely undeveloped stretch of the US-Mexico border.^[1] A trial judge sided with them in October, issuing an injunction that froze work while he considered whether the administration's use of waiver authority and emergency powers was lawful.^[1] The administration quickly asked the Supreme Court to intervene on its emergency docket, saying the pause would drive up costs, delay completion and undermine what it described as urgent border security needs.^[2]

Big Bend National Park, a rugged landscape of canyons, mountains and Rio Grande riverfront, has long been treated as a gap in the border wall system because of its terrain, protected status and popularity with hikers, birders and river outfitters. Plans to extend the wall into the park drew opposition not only from conservationists and local businesses but also from a mix of Texas Republicans and Democrats who warned that heavy construction inside the park would scar one of the state's signature natural landmarks without significantly deterring migration.^[1]

Monday's order is the first major Trump administration policy to draw Supreme Court review since last week's midterm elections, underscoring how hard-line border measures remain central to the White House agenda even as voters delivered a mixed verdict on Republican control of Congress.^[1] The ruling does not decide whether the Big Bend project is ultimately lawful, but it allows construction to move ahead while the legal fight continues, raising the prospect that bulldozers and crews could permanently alter parts of the park before courts reach a final judgment.^[1]

1. New York Times
2. CBS News