Judge Temporarily Halts Big Bend Border Barrier Construction in Texas

A Big Bend National Park sign at the west side entrance near Maverick Junction in Big Bend National Park, Texas, on May 24, 2019. Jacob Ford/Odessa American via AP

The plaintiffs are the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Ruidosa Church—a Presidio County nonprofit tied to a historic church—and Danny William Miller, a Rio Grande river guide and landowner in Redford.

Cardone found those constitutional claims were likely to succeed. The order includes stopping the construction and installment of related infrastructure including walls, roads, fences, lights, and sensors, but does not decide the case.

Plans for the Big Bend barrier system were announced in January. Officials waived environmental laws to speed construction, which was met with bipartisan opposition. Work in parts of the region had already idled into September.

Friday’s order follows a narrower halt. The Trump administration said in August it was temporarily pausing construction inside Big Bend National Park while Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Rodney Scott visited for an on-the-ground review.

He said he planned to “listen to local leadership, community members, and stakeholders” as the administration looked to keep protecting the park while addressing national security threats. It was not clear then whether the suspension would be extended.

CBP had already abandoned the idea of building a 30-foot bollard wall through the national park and a state park to the west. Construction on a new road, lights, miles of barriers meant to stop vehicles, and fiber optic cables buried under fences continued, with bulldozers seen clearing land at the park.

“We are working to preserve the landscape and protect the access visitors and local residents depend on,” the department stated.

The Big Bend Sector covers 517 miles, approximately one-quarter of the southwest border. Crossings there have historically run lower than in other regions. Apprehensions there also dropped during the second Trump administration; CBP data showed 11,823 apprehensions in 2023 and 3,096 in 2025, a 74 percent decrease.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) wrote Mullin about the construction.

“My constituents believe that the 1,000-foot riverbank cliffs and remote Big Bend terrain offers its own source of deterrence for any illegal migrants crossing into the United States,” Cornyn wrote. “The dangerous terrain includes steep mountains, deep canyons, and expansive deserts, which they believe act as a natural barrier that limits large-scale movements.”

The Center for Biological Diversity, which sued the Department of Homeland Security over its decision to waive regulations to hasten projects in the Big Bend region, said at the time that construction of the wall could resume “at any moment” and that it remained in opposition.