Federal judge halts construction of Big Bend border wall, undermining Trump agenda | Texas

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from expanding the border wall and other security infrastructure in the Big Bend region of West Texas, where controversial plans to build roads and vehicle barriers through a popular national park have led to violent backlash and public protests.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone, after a hearing Friday in El Paso, is a blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to expand the border wall across West Texas at a breakneck pace, while ignoring objections from local business owners, landowners, public lands advocates and politicians from both parties.

Plans to blight Big Bend National Park with new roads and 6-foot-high vehicle barriers have drawn the most national attention since the Trump administration began moving forward with border wall construction earlier this year. Images of bulldozers plowing land for new roads in the park in August sparked outrage, prompting Rodney Scott, the CBP commissioner, to temporarily halt the work. Work resumed in September.

Friday’s ruling comes after a hearing in a lawsuit filed by the Friends of Ruidosa Church, the Center for Biological Diversity and river guide Billy Miller, seeking to overturn several Department of Homeland Security (DHS) waivers that suspended dozens of environmental and historic protection laws to speed up construction.

Cardone blocked DHS waivers in his ruling, saying the plaintiffs were likely to win and would suffer irreparable harm if construction moved forward. The ruling prohibits CBP from building border security infrastructure or breaking ground unless it complies with federal laws that DHS tried to suspend.

“This is a historic victory for Big Bend and everyone who loves this wild corner of Texas,” said Laiken Jordahl, public lands advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “No administration has the right to destroy a national park, a crown jewel, for political theater.”

“But this fight is far from over,” he added. “We will not rest until Big Bend’s environmental protections are fully restored and the illegal waiver that allowed so much destruction is gone for good.”

CBP has already awarded five contracts for Big Bend totaling more than $6 billion to expand what the agency calls the “smart wall” — a mix of 30-foot steel fencing bollards, vehicle barriers and surveillance technology.

“We stand by our assessment and remain confident in our legal authorities to secure the border while preserving the unique landscape of the Big Bend region,” a CBP spokesperson wrote in an email in response to the decision. “We are working with the Department of Justice on next steps.”

The Republican-dominated Congress included a whopping $46.5 billion for border wall construction in its “big, beautiful” spending bill last year. This enormous war chest has led CBP to focus much of its efforts on the Big Bend region, which contains the longest unwalled area along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The plans have drawn furious reactions from local landowners and political leaders, who say unauthorized crossings are already rare there due to the region’s remoteness, lack of neighboring towns on the Mexican side and prominent cliffs that make crossing many stretches of the border very difficult.