The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday removed obstacles for the Trump administration to restart border barrier construction in the scenic Big Bend sector of West Texas, setting aside a prior judicial directive that had temporarily put the undertaking on hold.
In an unsigned 8–1 ruling, the justices granted an emergency appeal from government lawyers, ruling that federal courts lack the authority to block the construction efforts along a 517-mile section of the Rio Grande. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented alone without providing an explanation, as the unsigned 8–1 ruling notes.
The high court’s decision lifts a preliminary injunction issued on Oct. 2 by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone, an appointee of President George W. Bush. Cardone had previously paused the work after concluding that challengers were likely to prove the administration exceeded its authority to waive environmental regulations in a sector with historically low levels of illegal border crossings.
Solicitor Gen. D. John Sauer filed a fast-track appeal urging the justices to set aside that order. He pointed to government evidence showing 89,000 apprehensions of illegal migrants in the Big Bend sector over a four-year period, warning that leaving a 300-plus-mile gap in border defenses would create a dangerous magnet for cartels.
“The Sinaloa and Juarez cartels operate south of this sector across the Mexico border and seek to exploit any vulnerabilities in United States border protection to traffic humans, drugs and weapons across the border and infiltrate the United States,” Sauer told the court, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Supreme Court OKs border wall construction in Big Bend area of Texas https://t.co/2MMaKuHe0H
A broad coalition of environmentalists, cattle ranchers, farmers, river boat guides, outdoor activists, and church leaders had originally gone to court in El Paso to stop the project. Opponents argue that the rugged and desolate terrain serves as a natural deterrent, making a border wall unnecessary.
“The Trump administration and its contractors are hellbent on destroying one of America’s greatest national parks, and the Supreme Court just gave them the green light,” said Laiken Jordahl, national public lands advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, told the Los Angeles Times.
“This horrific decision clears the way for contractors to bulldoze pristine desert and dynamite canyon walls before the courts have even decided whether this destruction is legal,” Jordahl added, as reported by the Texas Tribune.
The legal battle centers on unusual measures adopted by Congress that granted the Department of Homeland Security broad authority to construct border barriers and waive all legal requirements, including environmental protection laws, to deter illegal crossings. The Supreme Court majority emphasized that this legislation reflects a clear congressional preference for expeditious construction over environmental harms.
“The balance of the equities also favors the government,” the court said in its opinion. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has indicated it does not plan to build a border wall directly within Big Bend National Park and its steep canyons, though new patrol roads and vehicle barriers are slated for the broader sector.
Before this, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham issued a formal notice to Barnard Construction and Customs and Border Protection, alleging that the enterprise had unlawfully cleared state property located within Presidio County. In a statement released Tuesday, Buckingham reaffirmed her position on the project.
“Texas can secure our border and protect Big Bend,” Buckingham said, according to the Texas Tribune. “We can confront the cartels, stop drug and human trafficking, and support our law enforcement officers while respecting the rugged country that makes Texas extraordinary.”
Monday’s ruling remains temporary while the Supreme Court decides whether to hear the case fully or until the underlying legal challenges are settled in the lower court in El Paso.
More on Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for the Trump administration to resume construction of a border wall in the Big Bend region of southwestern Texas.https://t.co/h0WqRXNvmv
BREAKING: The Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to resume border wall construction in Texas's Big Bend Sector, pausing a lower court order that blocked the project. Justice Jackson dissented. pic.twitter.com/BaGpsvxfpi
