Border wall construction: Supreme Court allows Trump administration to resume work in Texas’s Big Bend

The US Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to restart border wall work in Texas’s Big Bend region. The move reversed a lower court pause and weakened bipartisan efforts to stop the project. Opponents said the plan wastes public money and could damage a rare landscape in the area.

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The decision lets construction continue while the legal dispute proceeds. Federal lawyers argued the Texas judge exceeded authority in the case. They pointed to a law that tightly limits court challenges to border wall waivers used by the government.

Trump administration border wall construction and legal waivers

The border wall remained a signature project of President Donald Trump. Donald Trump had often promised a barrier spanning the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. Republicans in Congress last summer allocated USD 46 billion for the work. Customs and Border Protection had been building about 12 miles of barriers weekly along the border.

The government advanced the project by issuing broad waivers to avoid several regulations. Those rules were meant to protect the environment. They had also slowed large infrastructure work in the past. In Big Bend, the plan included 30-foot-tall steel walls in some stretches. It also included vehicle barriers and new roads.

Big Bend border wall opposition and judge’s construction stop

Bipartisan opponents in Texas’s Big Bend region organised to resist the construction. They said the barriers threatened the area’s economy and local way of life. They also said illegal immigration had been low there for years. Some argued drones and other surveillance tools could do the job instead.

A Texas judge agreed with the challengers and blocked activity linked to construction. The judge said Congress likely did not clearly approve such wide waivers there. The order applied across the Big Bend area. It covered Big Bend National Park and other river land in state and private ownership.

Big Bend border wall crossings, drug seizures and continued work

The Trump administration said illegal crossings and drug seizures occurred in Big Bend. Officials also warned that more traffic could shift there. That could happen if a section of wall remained open. The Supreme Court ruling meant construction could go on. The case was still expected to continue in court.

With inputs from PTI