DOJ asks Supreme Court to allow border wall construction in Big Bend region

Key points

• The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to lift an injunction and let border wall construction resume in the Big Bend Sector of West Texas.
• U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone found that Kristi Noem and Markwayne Mullin exceeded their authority when they issued waivers allowing the project to proceed.
• The government says the area has high rates of illegal crossings and drug smuggling, while plaintiffs say the Big Bend Sector ranks last in apprehensions among the seven southern border sectors.

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to allow border wall and related infrastructure construction to resume in the Big Bend Sector, a remote area of West Texas that includes Big Bend National Park. The Justice Department filed an emergency request to lift a lower court injunction that temporarily bars the Department of Homeland Security from building barriers or related infrastructure there.

The Big Bend Sector covers more than 500 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border and 77 counties in Texas. Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote that the injunction "significantly frustrates the government's ability to stop the flow of illegal aliens and drugs across the southern border."

Judge's ruling and waivers

Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone granted a preliminary injunction barring the Department of Homeland Security from building border barriers or related infrastructure, or engaging in "any construction or ground disturbing activities" in the Big Bend Sector. Cardone found that Kristi Noem and Markwayne Mullin exceeded their authority when issuing waivers between February and July that allowed construction to proceed. Just before the Justice Department sought the Supreme Court's intervention, Cardone rejected the administration's request to pause her decision.

We're deeply disappointed that the Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court for a green light to bulldoze one of America's wildest, most extraordinary landscapes

— Zeynep Graves, senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity

Dispute over crossing rates

The government argued the area is one of "high illegal entry," saying more than 89,000 people were apprehended trying to cross into the U.S. illegally in the Big Bend Sector between 2021 and 2025. The plaintiffs said the sector ranks last for apprehensions among the six other southern border sectors. While the area covers more than 25% of the U.S.-Mexico border, annual apprehensions there ranged between 0.3% and 2.2% of total border-wide apprehensions, according to court filings.