A federal judge has temporarily blocked the administration from building border barriers and related infrastructure across Texas’ Big Bend sector, ordering the government to halt construction and ground-disturbing activities unless it complies with environmental and other applicable laws.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone issued the preliminary injunction in El Paso after local residents, landowners and preservation groups sued over the project, which forms part of a broader federal border initiative combining vehicle barriers, patrol roads, lighting and surveillance technology. The order covers Big Bend National Park and stretches of privately owned land along the Rio Grande. The judge found the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on at least one of their claims and faced serious, irreparable harm without an injunction.
The project has had a stop-and-start history. Crews began clearing land in August, prompting protests and lawsuits. The Border Patrol’s commissioner later paused construction amid bipartisan criticism of its impact on the park’s landscape and wildlife, saying he wanted to evaluate the area personally. When the agency signaled work would resume after that pause lapsed on September 30, the court’s order shut the restart down.
Opponents argue the remote, rugged terrain already deters crossings and that the sector sees far fewer of them than other stretches of the Texas-Mexico border. Federal officials have warned that barriers elsewhere could redirect crossings into the region. The injunction is temporary and does not resolve the underlying lawsuit, which continues.
Related reading: Judge Orders Kennedy Center Closure Plan Unsealed as Privilege Fight Escalates · 800,000 Colorado Ballots Carry a Rail-Tax Question Their Voters Cannot Decide · Man Shot by ICE Officer in Marble Hill Had a Child in the Car, City Leaders Say
