Groups Ask Supreme Court to Keep Big Bend Border Wall Construction on Hold
The challengers filed their response Thursday to the administration's emergency request. The Supreme Court docket showed no ruling on the request when checked Thursday evening.
Groups challenging border-wall construction in Texas' Big Bend region asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to leave a lower court's temporary construction halt in place. Their filing responds to the Trump administration's request for emergency relief that would allow work to resume while the legal dispute continues.
The Supreme Court's public docket in case 26A560 recorded the challengers' response on October 29. When checked Thursday evening, the docket did not list an order granting or denying the government's request. The response deadline was not a scheduled ruling.
The dispute concerns the Department of Homeland Security's use of statutory authority to waive environmental and other legal requirements for border-barrier projects. The challengers include a conservation organization, a local landowner and a group working to preserve the Ruidosa church.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone issued an order on October 2 temporarily barring the construction unless the government complied with applicable environmental and other laws. The administration asked the Supreme Court on October 21 to pause that order and also sought review and reversal.
The government argues that Congress gave the homeland security secretary clear authority to build barriers and waive legal requirements to speed construction, and that the district court lacked authority to hear the statutory challenge. The opponents argue that allowing work to proceed could cause lasting harm to the region's landscape and cultural resources.
The competing arguments remain before the justices. Thursday's filing is a request to maintain the construction halt, not a new Supreme Court decision. Readers can follow the official Supreme Court docket for subsequent filings and orders.