The US Supreme Court has allowed Donald Trump to continue his administration’s construction of a border wall in the Big Bend region of Texas, including parts of Big Bend National Park.
In an unsigned five-page ruling, the nation’s highest court granted the Trump administration’s emergency request to stay a lower court order that temporarily halted the project last month.
Liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only member of the nine-member court to disagree with the ruling.
The judges wrote that the plaintiffs, which include the Center for Biological Diversity, a Big Bend River guide and a church preservation group, “claim that construction in the Big Bend area will diminish their ability to use and enjoy the area.”
However, they noted: “But Congress’s enactment (of the Immigration Act) – which allows the Secretary (of Homeland Security) to waive the requirements of environmental protection and other conservation laws – reflects a clear preference for rapid border construction rather than the very harms respondents assert.
“The government’s interest therefore outweighs any aesthetic, recreational, and environmental harm alleged by defendants,” the judges said.
The Trump administration plans to build more than 300 miles of six-foot-tall vehicle barriers and supporting roads, building on a 1996 law that authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to “waive all legal requirements,” including environmental and conservation protections, in areas designated as having high levels of illegal border crossings.
The plaintiffs argue that the project threatens wildlife and public lands, could destroy “iconic sections” of the protected Rio Grande river corridor, and would undermine the “carefully crafted web of laws intended to protect a vast universe of biological, historical, cultural, and other interests.”
Border wall plans have also faced bipartisan opposition from local residents, many of whom warn that construction could threaten their livelihoods and disrupt their communities.
A Customs and Border Protection map shows plans for barriers and patrol routes across Big Bend National Park, including isolated areas that would require significant dynamite. Construction is also planned in isolated canyons where no unauthorized vehicle crossings have been documented and vehicles cannot reach the U.S.-Mexico border, the Center for Biological Diversity noted.
According to CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott, the wall, which is being built at about 12 miles per week, is expected to be completed by the end of Trump’s second term.
The Center for Biological Diversity condemned the Supreme Court’s decision, saying: “This horrific decision clears the way for entrepreneurs to bulldoze pristine deserts and dynamite canyon walls before the courts have even decided whether such destruction is legal. They are approving the permanent destruction of the wildest place in Texas and the theft of a great American river from all of us.”
“The destruction we have already seen in Big Bend has sparked a storm of outrage so severe that the administration has been forced to shelve its plans. If the bulldozers return now, public opposition will only grow…The damage done to Big Bend will be felt by future generations of Texans and Americans, and this administration will bear responsibility for the natural heritage we are losing,” the center added.
CBP has awarded five contracts worth more than $6 billion for border security improvements at Big Bend, including 30-foot steel fencing, vehicle barriers and surveillance technology, which the agency calls its “smart wall.”
Following a federal judge’s ruling that temporarily halted construction in October, CBP said at the time, “We stand by our assessment and remain confident in our legal authorities to secure the border while preserving the unique landscape of the Big Bend region.” »
The Guardian has contacted CBP for comment on the Supreme Court’s latest ruling.
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