Federal Judge Slams Brakes on Trump Border Wall in Texas’ Big Bend Sector [WATCH]

A federal judge on Friday stopped the Trump administration’s border wall construction throughout Texas’s Big Bend sector, siding for now with local residents and preservation advocates who sued to halt the project. The ruling came despite warnings from federal officials that barriers in other areas could redirect illegal crossings into the region.

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone issued the injunction in El Paso while the lawsuit proceeds. Her order blocks construction and related work across the entire Big Bend sector, including within Big Bend National Park.

The injunction is not limited to a particular stretch of proposed barrier or a single construction site. Instead, the court barred the federal government from conducting covered work anywhere in the sector while the legal fight continues.

The federal government “shall not build border barrier or related infrastructure, or engage in any construction or ground-disturbing activities, in the Big Bend sector,” Cardone wrote. The judge read the language aloud in court from her order spanning two pages.

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The order also prevents the government from relying on waivers of environmental and other laws that officials had issued to speed construction. Those waivers had been part of the administration’s effort to move the barrier project forward.

Cardone said the federal government “must comply with all applicable laws” as the lawsuit proceeds. She also found that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on at least one of their claims.

The plaintiffs include Billy Miller, a river guide from Terlingua, Texas, along with a church preservation group. Local residents and preservation advocates brought the lawsuit after months of opposition to the planned construction.

The legal challenge followed repeated stops and starts in the project. Friday’s injunction once again freezes the administration’s plans, this time across the broader Big Bend sector rather than at only one named location.

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Opponents argue that Big Bend’s remote and rugged landscape already discourages illegal crossings. They also contend that constructing barriers and related infrastructure would damage the region’s landscape and change the experience for people visiting the area.

The Big Bend sector records substantially fewer illegal crossings than other sectors along the border shared by Texas and Mexico. Federal officials nevertheless warned that building barriers elsewhere could push more illegal crossings toward Big Bend.

That warning did not prevent Cardone from granting the injunction sought by the residents and preservation advocates. Her order keeps the federal government from beginning barrier construction, supporting infrastructure work, or other covered activities that disturb the ground.

The court’s ruling also removes the government’s ability to use its previously issued legal waivers for the project while the case continues. Under Cardone’s order, officials must follow the laws that would otherwise have been covered by those waivers.

River guides and environmental advocates celebrated outside the El Paso courthouse after Cardone announced the decision. Their reaction reflected the opposition that had built over months as construction plans repeatedly stopped and restarted.

“We dodged a bullet today,” Miller said. “It means that we can continue to introduce people to the wildness. Their plan was going to ruin the experience of anybody going out there.”

For Miller and the other opponents, the injunction preserves the region from the planned work while their lawsuit moves forward. For the Trump administration, the ruling blocks construction throughout a sector that officials warned could face redirected illegal crossings as barriers rise elsewhere.

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