SCOTUS Crushes Leftist Lawfare -- Greenlights Trump's Border Infrastructure Projects in Big Bend National Park

The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for the Trump administration to resume border barrier and road construction in the Border Patrol’s West Texas Big Bend Sector, including one such project within Big Bend National Park. On Monday, the court stayed an earlier preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone.

The court’s unsigned per curiam stay of Cardone’s Oct. 2 injunction was based on an analysis of the case that concluded the government was “exceedingly likely to prevail” on its argument that Cardone lacked jurisdiction. In the stay, the court explained that challengers to the environmental waivers may bring only constitutional claims, and “There is no such thing as a ‘constitutional’ claim.” Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson noted that she would deny the stay but did not author an opinion. 

The emergency-docket stay is not a final decision on the merits. The underlying lawsuit, Friends of the Ruidosa Church et al. v. Mullin et al., will continue. With SCOTUS rejecting the constitutional question, the challengers will have little room for success in the district court. 

For now, the ruling means the Trump administration can resume construction across the Big Bend Border Patrol Sector, including inside Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park, while the case progresses. The DHS environmental waivers are again in effect. The government had argued Cardone’s ruling caused CBP and taxpayers to lose nearly $500,000 per day as the projects remained paused until Monday’s ruling. 

The border infrastructure projects in the region have faced opposition from both local and national politicians in recent months. As reported by Breitbart Texas, in August Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) joined local politicians and James Talarico, the Democratic nominee in the 2026 U.S. Senate election in Texas, in opposing border security enhancements in Big Bend National Park. In an Aug. 7 letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Cornyn wrote that the region’s dangerous terrain acts as a “natural barrier that limits large-scale movements.”

According to CBP, the planned actions in the Brewster County region include 17 miles of vehicle barrier system and the construction, improvement and maintenance of about 205 miles of 24-foot-wide patrol roads. The plans also include lighting, surveillance cameras, and underground fiber-optic cabling. CBP has said the work will not include a 30-foot border wall inside the national park.

According to CBP reports, the Big Bend Sector traditionally sees fewer illegal crossings than other sectors on the southwest border. At its peak in 2023, the sector recorded more than 11,800 arrests. The projects are funded by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which provided $46.5 billion to complete multiple border infrastructure projects nationwide.

Shortly after Senator Cornyn requested a meeting with stakeholders and a reconsideration of the project, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott announced a temporary halt to infrastructure work inside Big Bend National Park. 

Monday’s ruling will likely see a swift restart of construction activities in the Big Bend region and weaken the footing of future challenges on similar grounds.  

Case Information: Supreme Court Emergency Docket: No. 26A560 (Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of Homeland Security, et al. v. Center for Biological Diversity, et al.)

Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol.  Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.