A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from building border barriers across Texas’ Big Bend sector, rejecting the government’s argument that increased enforcement elsewhere could drive illegal crossings into the remote region.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone issued the injunction in El Paso after local residents and preservation advocates challenged the construction plans. Her ruling stops all barrier construction and related work throughout the Big Bend sector, including within Big Bend National Park, while the legal case moves forward.
“The federal government shall not build border barrier or related infrastructure, or engage in any construction or ground disturbing activities, in the Big Bend sector,” Cardone wrote in the two-page order, which she read aloud in court.
Cardone also prohibited officials from using environmental and other legal waivers issued to accelerate the project. The government, she ruled, “must comply with all applicable laws,” adding that the plaintiffs were likely to prevail on at least one of their claims.
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The lawsuit was filed by Billy Miller, a river guide from Terlingua, Texas, along with a church preservation organization. Their challenge came after months of opposition and a construction effort marked by repeated delays and reversals.
Critics of the project say Big Bend’s isolated, rugged landscape already serves as a powerful deterrent to illegal crossings and that a wall would scar the area’s natural character. The sector also sees far fewer crossings than other stretches of the Texas-Mexico border.
River guides and environmental advocates gathered outside the El Paso courthouse to celebrate after Cardone announced the decision.
“We dodged a bullet today,” Miller said. He added that the ruling would allow guides to keep introducing visitors to the region’s wilderness, while warning that the administration’s proposal would have ruined the experience for anyone exploring the area.
