Supreme Court Allows Big Bend Border Work to Resume

The Supreme Court on November 9 allowed the Trump administration to resume border construction in the Big Bend region of West Texas, pausing a lower-court injunction while a lawsuit over the project continues. The unsigned emergency order does not decide whether the government’s waivers of environmental and conservation laws are lawful.

The justices said the government was exceedingly likely to prevail on its argument that U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone lacked authority to hear the challengers’ claim. The court stayed Cardone’s order rather than reversing it outright. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only justice reported to have opposed the government’s request; the order gave no explanation for her position.

The lawsuit challenges waivers issued by the Department of Homeland Security that allow construction to proceed without complying with certain environmental and conservation requirements. The plaintiffs include the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Ruidosa Church and a local river guide and landowner. They argue the waivers exceed the government’s authority and that construction could harm wildlife, public land and historic and cultural resources....