Federal Judge Halts Trump's Border Wall in Big Bend National Park, Says Crews 'Cut Corners'
A judge barred construction across the entire 500-mile Big Bend border sector, ruling the administration bypassed environmental and cultural reviews to get bulldozers moving.
A federal judge in Texas on Friday blocked the Trump administration from building any more border wall through the Big Bend region, ruling that the government sidestepped legal safeguards to rush construction through one of the country's most remote and ecologically sensitive stretches of borderland.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone of the Western District of Texas ordered that, effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security "shall not build border barrier or related infrastructure, or engage in any construction or ground disturbing activities," in the Big Bend sector until the government complies with all applicable laws. The order covers not just Big Bend National Park itself but the full roughly 500-mile Big Bend sector, which makes up about a quarter of the entire U.S.-Mexico border.
"ONCE BULLDOZERS CLEAR VEGETATION ... THOSE QUALITIES CANNOT BE RESTORED THROUGH MONETARY COMPENSATION OR AFTER-THE-FACT RELIEF."
That line, from Cardone's order as reported by UPI, goes to the heart of the lawsuit: environmental advocates, a historic church and a river guide sued DHS arguing the agency bypassed reviews meant to protect the area's environment, culture and archaeology before sending crews in.
The ruling is the latest turn in a fight that has simmered since summer. Construction in the Big Bend area was paused in August after local pushback, with Customs and Border Protection halting activity there — but that pause expired September 30, and crews moved back in within days, prompting Friday's emergency order.
Bipartisan Pushback in a Unique Landscape
Unlike many stretches of the border, the Big Bend wall fight has drawn opposition from both sides of the aisle, driven in part by the region's status as a tourism draw built around the Rio Grande's canyons and the park's dark, isolated skies. The National Park Service notes the river forms roughly 118 miles of the international boundary inside the park alone, much of it accessible only by raft or on foot.
DHS has not yet publicly responded to Friday's ruling. The order is temporary, and the broader legal fight over whether the administration followed federal environmental law before authorizing construction is expected to continue in Cardone's courtroom in the weeks ahead.