Order bars Big Bend Sector work until defendants comply with applicable laws
A federal judge in Texas on Friday blocked the Trump administration from continuing construction of a border wall through Big Bend National Park, issuing a brief order that halts all work in the Big Bend Sector effective immediately and bars any resumption until the government complies with all applicable laws.
In her order, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone barred the federal government from any “construction or ground disturbing activities” in the national park. The order runs until the court orders otherwise.
“Effective immediately and until the Court orders otherwise, Defendants SHALL NOT build border barrier or related infrastructure, or engage in any construction or ground disturbing activities, in the Big Bend Sector until and unless Defendants comply with all applicable laws,” Cardone wrote.
The ruling came as the Department of Homeland Security had been rapidly expanding the southwestern stretch of the border wall. Construction in the Big Bend National Park area had been paused in August amid pushback from locals.
Challengers asked the court to halt the work, arguing the administration had overstepped its authority. They cited potential harms to the environment and to recreation sites in the park.
In court papers, the challengers’ attorneys described the harms from the work as irreversible through any after-the-fact measure. “Once bulldozers clear vegetation, roads are cut into previously undeveloped terrain, lights mounted, and steel barrier infrastructure is effected, those qualities cannot be restored through monetary compensation or after-the-fact relief,” they wrote.
The order bars construction in the Big Bend Sector until and unless defendants comply with all applicable laws.