A federal court in Texas on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from building a border wall and other infrastructure across the Big Bend region of Texas.
Judge Kathleen Cardone said the plaintiffs were 'likely to succeed on the merits of at least one of the claims in suit,' that there was a likelihood of 'serious, irreparable harm' without an injunction, and that 'the balance of the equities and the public interest weigh in their favor.'
The ruling covers Big Bend National Park and extends to areas upriver and downriver from the park, where Customs and Border Protection had planned a range of border infrastructure projects.
The administration’s broader effort is a $46 billion plan to line the southern border with 30-foot-tall steel walls, vehicle barriers, roads and surveillance technology.
Landowners, businesses and environmentalists in the region united to oppose the projects. Opponents argued that the 500-mile-long Big Bend region is so remote and rugged that it already serves as its own deterrent to illegal immigration.
They also argued that the administration violated the law by issuing waivers to bypass numerous regulations in order to speed up border wall infrastructure projects. The lawsuit was brought by an environmental organization, advocates for a historic church in Ruidosa and a river guide.
Laiken Jordahl, with the Center of Biological Diversity, called the ruling a 'total victory.' He said, 'The bulldozers are going to be sent packing until she rules on the merits.'
Customs and Border Protection defended the project in a statement, saying it stands by its assessment and remains confident in its legal authorities to secure the border while preserving the unique landscape of the Big Bend region. The agency said it is working with the Department of Justice on next steps.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The decision comes just weeks after the administration erected the first border wall panels in the Big Bend sector in mid-September. It also follows earlier bulldozer activity in Big Bend National Park that sparked opposition and a brief pause in construction.
The project has drawn bipartisan opposition, with both Republicans and Democrats calling for the administration to stop work in the park. CBP has said it is reevaluating plans for the National Park but has not yet said what it will do there.
Big Bend is a test of what happens when Washington pushes a massive infrastructure project through contested land and calls it border security. The court says the public interest still matters, and so do the property rights, regulations and landscape that federal power can erase.
For taxpayers, the larger lesson is simpler. A $46 billion campaign does not outrun the courts, the landowners or the rulebook. Capital rewards clear rules, and government overreach often leaves the bill behind.
