Supreme Court allows Trump to resume border wall construction in Big Bend, Texas, Digi Mart USA News (Big Bend region, Texas): The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday gave the Trump administration the green light to resume, for now, construction of the border wall in the Big Bend region of Texas, according to The Associated Press.
The decision is a setback for opponents of the project, both Republicans and Democrats, who consider the work an unnecessary expense and a threat to the natural landscape of the area. The border wall is one of Trump’s signature projects, and he has for years promised to build a barrier stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.
Last summer, Republicans in Congress approved $46 billion to finance construction. Since then, U.S.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has accelerated the work and is building roughly 12 miles of border barriers per week along the entire border.
To move the projects forward, the government has relied on waivers that allow it to set aside various environmental regulations, which are designed to protect ecosystems but often delay large construction projects.
In the Big Bend region, the project calls for steel walls up to 30 feet high in some areas, along with barriers to block vehicle passage and the construction of new roads, AP reported.
Opponents argue that spending that money makes little sense in an area where unauthorized border crossings have historically been scarce. They also say construction could hurt local businesses, change the lives of people who live in the region and damage one of Texas’s most distinctive natural landscapes.
The Big Bend region is in West Texas along the border with Mexico, beside the Rio Grande. It is known for its desert landscapes, mountains and canyons, and includes Big Bend National Park, one of the state’s most extensive and iconic natural areas.
Critics propose strengthening surveillance with technological tools, such as drones, to monitor the border without altering the environment as much.
The dispute reached the courts, where a federal judge in Texas sided with opponents of the wall. In his ruling, he found that Congress had likely not explicitly authorized the government to set aside so many environmental rules, especially in a region that records the fewest migrant apprehensions of the entire southern border.
The judge ordered an immediate halt to work and any other activity related to the project in that area, including Big Bend National Park and land along the river, both public and private.
The Trump administration defended the project by saying that Big Bend does see unauthorized crossings and drug seizures, and argued that trafficking could shift to the region if a stretch of the border were left without barriers. Federal government lawyers also argued that the judge exceeded his authority, since the law limits the ability to challenge in court the waivers that allow border wall construction.
With Monday’s ruling, the Supreme Court allows the work to resume while the legal process continues.
In late October, the Trump administration had asked the Supreme Court to allow it to resume construction of the wall in Big Bend. The administration filed an emergency appeal asking the justices to set aside a federal court order that had halted work while the legal dispute was resolved.
On October 2, federal judge Kathleen Cardone ordered construction suspended in the project area, which covers about 800 kilometers, while the court process moved forward.
