SCOTUS Lets Border Wall Construction Continue in Texas
Supreme Court allows DHS to proceed with border wall construction in Texas after blocking injunction.
2 min read
The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to continue construction of the border wall in Southwest Texas’s Big Bend region, overturning a federal injunction that had temporarily halted the project. The decision, issued in an unsigned opinion, came after an environmental group challenged the construction, arguing it could harm the environment and historic sites.
The court ruled that the federal judge who issued the injunction lacked the authority to block the construction, emphasizing that the government has ‘compelling interests’ in border security. The ruling also clarified that the lower court’s argument based on the ‘major questions doctrine’ was a statutory claim, not a constitutional one, and therefore did not fall under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
Earlier this year, former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and her successor, Markwayne Mullin, issued waivers for environmental and conservation laws to allow the wall’s construction, citing the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported a significant drop in apprehensions in the area after President Trump took office, from nearly 12,000 in fiscal year 2023 to 3,096 in fiscal year 2025.
The environmental group’s lawyer, Laiken Jordahl, criticized the decision, calling it a ‘horrific’ move that allows contractors to ‘bulldoze pristine desert and dynamite canyon walls’ before the courts have determined its legality. DHS General Counsel James Percival praised the decision on X, stating the court’s ruling ‘clears the way’ for construction.
When we filed in the Supreme Court, I called the district court’s order halting wall construction “as unprecedented as it is flawed.” We just won 8-1. https://t.co/3AVnLQfe3Y
Environmental concerns remain a key point of contention as the project moves forward, with critics warning of irreversible damage to the region’s natural and historical resources. The Supreme Court’s ruling underscores the ongoing legal and political battles over border security and environmental protections in the United States.
Source: OANN
