Supreme Court Clears Trump Border Wall Construction in Big Bend - and Texas Pushback Runs From Cornyn to Talarico
The justices let construction resume while the lawsuit plays out. In Texas, the outgoing Republican senator and the Democratic senator-elect who replaces him are both objecting - for different reasons, in their own words.
The Supreme Court has cleared the way for the Trump administration to resume building its border wall in West Texas, including inside Big Bend National Park, USA Today reported. The decision, handed down November 9, paused orders from a U.S. district judge that had halted construction of roads and barriers across the Big Bend region while a lawsuit against the project continues.
The pushback in Texas is bipartisan. Republican Sen. John Cornyn, the state's outgoing senior senator, wrote in a November 9 column for the San Antonio Express-News that construction could hurt local businesses and pointed to the area's low levels of illegal crossings. 'A border wall is not the best solution for portions of this environment,' Cornyn wrote. 'Big Bend deserves border security that reflects the realities of its geography, the input and experience of local law enforcement, and the rights of the people who live there.'
Democratic Sen.-elect James Talarico, who replaces Cornyn in January, said in a statement that the decision allows 'out-of-state contractors to get rich by destroying the crown jewel of Texas,' adding: 'We can work with President Trump to fix this broken immigration system without desecrating our sacred land.' Rep.-elect Katy Padilla Stout, whose Texas 23rd district includes Big Bend National Park, wrote: 'No Wall At Big Bend. No Exceptions.' The Center for Biological Diversity, a named plaintiff in the lawsuit, called the decision 'horrific' through its national public lands advocate, Laiken Jordahl.
The underlying project, as reported in wire coverage read this run, spans roads, cameras, vehicle barriers and sensors across the Big Bend sector, funded from the $46.5 billion Congress included for border construction in last year's One Big Beautiful Bill, with the Big Bend sections totaling $1.7 billion. Construction may resume while the legal challenge continues through the courts - the ruling decides who builds during the fight, not who ultimately wins it.
