US District Judge Kathleen Cardone issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration’s border wall and security infrastructure expansion in the Big Bend region of west Texas following a Friday hearing in El Paso. The decision blocks the Department of Homeland Security waivers that had suspended environmental and historical protection laws to accelerate construction timelines.
The ruling emerged from a lawsuit filed by the Friends of the Ruidosa church, the Center for Biological Diversity, and river guide Billy Miller challenging multiple DHS waivers. Cardone determined that plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits and would face irreparable harm if construction continued. Her order requires the Customs and Border Protection agency to comply with federal environmental and historical preservation laws before proceeding with any border security infrastructure or ground disturbance activities.
The Big Bend project has drawn significant public attention, particularly following images of bulldozers working within the national park in August that prompted temporary construction halts before work resumed in September. The administration has awarded five contracts totaling more than $6 billion for the region, which contains the longest unwalled stretch of the US-Mexico border. CBP indicated it intends to appeal the decision, stating in a statement that it remains confident in its legal authorities to secure the border while preserving the landscape.
Opposition to the project spans multiple constituencies, including local landowners, business owners, public land advocates, and politicians from both parties who question the security necessity given the region’s remoteness and geographical barriers. Congress allocated $46.5 billion for border wall construction in last year’s spending legislation, directing significant resources toward the Big Bend expansion. The temporary restraining order marks a setback for the administration’s stated priority of accelerating border security construction across west Texas.
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