In West Texas, supreme court allows trump administration to resume border wall construction as legal fight continues in bend region

Court permits work to resume

The Supreme Court on Monday granted the administration’s request to continue construction in the Big Bend area as the lawsuit proceeds. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said she would have rejected the request for emergency relief.

The court said Congress had authorized the Homeland Security secretary to waive environmental and other conservation requirements for faster border construction. It concluded that the law showed a preference for prompt building despite the harms raised by challengers.

Opponents warn of lasting damage

Federal law would ordinarily require compliance with environmental and historical preservation protections before construction. The Department of Homeland Security relied on a 1996 immigration law that permits the secretary to waive legal requirements considered necessary for speedy construction near the southern border.

Government cites border security

Solicitor General D. John Sauer warned that halting work could disrupt efforts to protect a quarter of the southern border from cartel activity, drug trafficking and illegal entry. He also said a pause could leave a major gap in protection and bring delays, added costs and operational harm.

The two sides dispute whether the Big Bend Sector has high levels of illegal entry that warrant more barriers. Plaintiffs said it ranked last in apprehensions among the southern border’s seven sectors; court filings put its annual share at 0.3% to 2.2%, despite the sector covering more than 25% of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Construction and local opposition

Immigration agencies said work on a 47-mile wall section in Hudspeth County began in September. The county is within the Big Bend region. Photos and videos of bulldozers arriving at Big Bend National Park in August drew opposition from Republican and Democratic lawmakers, cattle ranchers and local law enforcement in Texas. The article also reports that Cardone found the Homeland Security secretary had exceeded his authority in issuing the construction waivers.