Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Resume Big Bend Border Project

The Trump administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow border security construction to resume across a remote stretch of West Texas that includes Big Bend National Park. The Justice Department filed its emergency request on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, challenging a lower court order that halted construction across the Big Bend Sector along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The disputed project covers a border region spanning more than 500 miles and 77 Texas counties. According to the Justice Department, the broader plan includes 30-foot-tall steel barriers, patrol roads, vehicle barriers and detection technology, with infrastructure planned across more than 300 miles of the region.

The administration argues that the injunction undermines efforts to prevent unauthorized border crossings and drug smuggling. Solicitor General D. John Sauer presented that position in the emergency application, citing government concerns about security conditions in the region.

"The district court's injunction significantly frustrates the government's ability to stop the flow of illegal aliens and drugs across the southern border," Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in the request for emergency relief.

Sauer also said the administration selected the affected areas based on its assessment of border activity over several years. The Justice Department reported that more than 89,000 people were apprehended attempting to enter the United States illegally in the Big Bend Sector between 2021 and 2025.

However, opponents of the project dispute the administration's characterization of the region as a high-entry area. Court filings cited by CBS News show that annual apprehensions in the sector accounted for between 0.3% and 2.2% of total apprehensions along the southern border, despite the sector covering more than 25% of the U.S.-Mexico border.

The legal challenge began after the Department of Homeland Security announced the project in February 2026. Then-Secretary Kristi Noem invoked a 1996 federal immigration law to waive certain legal requirements, arguing that the exemptions would allow barriers and roads to be built more quickly. Her successor, Markwayne Mullin, subsequently issued two additional waivers permitting Customs and Border Protection to construct barrier systems.

An environmental nonprofit, a professional riverboat guide and a religious organization seeking to preserve the Sacred Heart of the Church of Jesus along the Rio Grande filed a lawsuit in April challenging the administration's actions. The plaintiffs argued against the construction plans, which could affect cultural sites, recreational access, wildlife and environmental resources.

On October 21, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone rejected the administration's request to suspend her earlier ruling. Earlier in October, she had issued a preliminary injunction barring the Department of Homeland Security from constructing border barriers or related infrastructure and from conducting ground-disturbing activities in the Big Bend Sector.

Cardone found that Noem and Mullin had exceeded their authority when issuing the waivers between February and July. The administration subsequently sought emergency intervention from the Supreme Court after the district court declined to pause the injunction.

Construction activity had already triggered widespread opposition among local residents, landowners, environmental advocates and public officials from both political parties. Videos showing bulldozers operating near Santa Elena Canyon circulated widely in August, drawing attention to plans for new patrol roads near the iconic limestone cliffs inside the Big Bend region.

Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott had paused construction inside Big Bend National Park until the end of September following public criticism. The agency has maintained that the proposed wall itself will not cut through the national park, although other infrastructure associated with the project would affect the surrounding area.

According to CBS News, construction began last month on a 47-mile stretch of wall in the Big Bend region. The Justice Department also said the government had awarded contracts for five border-barrier projects in the area.

Residents and conservation groups have raised concerns about the consequences for wildlife, including endangered plant species and animals that depend on connected habitats. Local opponents have also questioned how border infrastructure could affect access to the Rio Grande and surrounding public lands.

The dispute has attracted support from people across the political spectrum, including border sheriffs, ranchers, business owners and conservation advocates. Former Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson has worked to persuade fellow Republicans to oppose the project, citing local apprehension figures and potential restrictions on public access.