The Trump administration on Wednesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow border wall and barrier construction to continue across the Big Bend region of West Texas. The request is an emergency application in an ongoing legal fight.
Weeks earlier, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone issued an injunction blocking barrier construction and the use of federal regulatory waivers that speed the project in the region. The Big Bend area makes up nearly a quarter of the U.S.-Mexico border and has historically had some of the lowest border crossing numbers in the Southwest, according to the reporting. On Tuesday, Cardone rejected the government's separate request to let construction continue, so the block remains in effect for now.
The Center for Biological Diversity, a church preservation group and a local river guide are suing the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection over the plans. In its filing, the government called the injunction "baseless" and said its border security interests outweigh aesthetic, recreational and cultural injuries claimed by the plaintiffs. The administration also said the pause costs over $460,000 a day. It asked the court both to pause the injunction and to take up the case quickly.
Zeynep Graves, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said the group was "deeply disappointed" by the request. Lawyers for the plaintiffs have said the region's natural barriers have prevented illegal crossings and will continue to do so.