Justice Department asks Supreme Court to lift Big Bend wall injunction

A federal judge halted construction in West Texas while environmental and legal challenges continue.

Published On 22 Oct 202622 Oct 2026

The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to allow it to resume plans for a border wall through Big Bend in West Texas, as part of its broader immigration policy and efforts to increase security along the Mexico border.

The Justice Department filed an emergency application on Wednesday seeking to lift a federal judge’s injunction that has suspended construction while a lawsuit challenging the project proceeds.

Department of Homeland Security plans for the area include vehicle barriers, patrol roads, lighting and detection technology in and around Big Bend National Park.

Big Bend spans roughly 805km (500 miles) of the border. Opponents of the project say it accounts for about 1 percent of migrant arrests.

Environmental and historical concerns

The lawsuit, filed by plaintiffs including the Center for Biological Diversity and a Big Bend-area river guide, seeks to protect the region’s landscape and historic church. It also challenges the federal government’s waivers of environmental and historical laws used to expedite the $1.7bn project.

Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and current Secretary Markwayne Mullin issued the waivers between February and July, determining that the region was an “area of high illegal entry” and required additional barriers to control the border.

US District Judge Kathleen Cardone issued an injunction in El Paso on October 2, halting work “until and unless Defendants comply with all applicable laws,” according to her order.

In a later ruling, the judge found that the waivers exceeded the authority of Noem and Mullin.

In its application, the Justice Department urged the Supreme Court to pause or overturn Cardone’s injunction.

The Supreme Court has not yet responded to the administration’s request.

“Even assuming that the secretary’s waiver authority implicates a question of ‘vast economic and political significance,’ Congress did clearly authorize the secretary both to build border barriers and to waive legal requirements in order to facilitate their expeditious construction,” the Justice Department wrote.

The administration paused construction in Big Bend in August after the project drew bipartisan criticism over its potential effects on the national park’s landscape and wildlife.

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