The Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration can continue construction of the border wall near Big Bend National Park in Texas.
This follows a lower court injunction that stopped the administration from working on the project.
From The Hill:
The Supreme Court is allowing border barrier construction to continue in and around Big Bend National Park in Texas, in a win for the Trump administration.
The justices on Monday halted a lower court’s decision last month to pause the construction while the underlying case against it plays out.
In a brief statement outlining its decision, the high court said that the lower one’s injunction “impedes the Government from advancing its ‘compelling interests’ in border security and integrity.”
The statement did not explicitly state which justices supported the decision, though it said that Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson disagreed with it and would have denied the government’s request to halt the lower court ruling.
Earlier this year, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem waived environmental laws to expedite the construction of barriers and roads in the Big Bend area.
BREAKING: The Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to resume border wall construction in Texas's Big Bend Sector, pausing a lower court order that blocked the project. Justice Jackson dissented. https://t.co/BaGpsvxfpi
— SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) November 9, 2026
The legal battle began when environmental groups, local landowners, and a river guide filed a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s waiver of environmental and conservation laws to fast-track the wall’s construction in the Big Bend region.
The plaintiffs include the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Ruidosa Church, and a local river guide. They argued that the Department of Homeland Security unconstitutionally bypassed environmental laws, including the Endangered Species Act and the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, by using broad waivers.
BREAKING: #SCOTUS, 8-1, green lights Trump admin's border wall construction in Big Bend preserve in Texas, lifts district judge's order blocking project. Justice Jackson dissents. Doc: https://t.co/haqFDKHvRi
— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) November 9, 2026
They alleged that these waivers violated the major questions doctrine by exceeding statutory authority without congressional approval, while threatening irreversible harm to protected lands, wildlife habitats, cultural resources, and the regional tourism economy along the Rio Grande.
🚨 BREAKING — MAJOR TRUMP WIN AT SCOTUS: The Supreme Court allowed President Trump to RESUME construction of the US/Mexico border wall, 8-1 A district court judge BLOCKED construction a few months ago, as leftist groups do everything they can to slow progress. Biden’s DEI Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the sole dissenter, of course
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) November 9, 2026
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone issued a preliminary injunction on October 2, halting ground-disturbing activities. The Trump administration responded with an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court.