Federal court temporarily blocks Trump administration border wall in Texas’ Big Bend region

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A federal court in Texas on Friday issued a ruling temporarily blocking the Trump administration from building a border wall and other infrastructure across the state’s Big Bend region.

The news marks a major win for landowners, businesses and environmentalists in the region who have united to oppose the planned infrastructure projects, which are part of a $46 billion effort by the Trump administration to line the southern border with a mix of 30-foot-tall steel walls, vehicle barriers, roads and surveillance technology.

Judge Kathleen Cardone said in her ruling that the plaintiffs were “likely to succeed on the merits of at least one of the claims in suit, that there is a likelihood that they will suffer serious, irreparable harm without an injunction, and that the balance of the equities and the public interest weigh in their favor.”

Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Opponents of the border wall project have argued that the Big Bend region of Texas is so remote and the landscape so rugged that it serves as its own deterrent to illegal immigration and that the administration violated the law when it issued a swath of waivers allowing it to bypass numerous regulations in order to speed up border wall infrastructure projects.

Laiken Jordahl, with the Center of Biological Diversity that brought the suit, called Cardone’s ruling a “total victory.”

“The bulldozers are going to be sent packing until she rules on the merits,” Jordahl said. “This is such a historic day for Big Bend and for Texas and the Constitution.”

The court’s decision comes just weeks after the administration erected the first border wall panels in the Big Bend sector in the middle of September.

The border wall project through the Big Bend sector has sparked bipartisan opposition.

Much of the opposition has been geared around Customs and Border Protection’s plans for inside the Big Bend National Park, which is prized for its beautiful landscapes, limestone cliffs and crystal clear night sky views.

When bulldozers were spotted clearing land in the park in August, it sparked widespread opposition with both Republicans and Democrats calling for the administration to stop. Customs and Border Protection paused all activity there, but that pause expired on September 30. The administration has said it’s reevaluating plans for the National Park but has so far not said what it will do there.

But the judge’s ruling also extends to areas up and downriver from the National Park, where Customs and Border Protection has planned a range of border infrastructure projects that would largely require build across privately owned land.

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德克萨斯州一家联邦法院周五发布裁决，暂时阻止特朗普政府在该州的大弯地区修建边境墙和其他基础设施。

这一消息标志着该地区的土地所有者、企业和环保人士取得了重大胜利，他们联合起来反对计划中的基础设施项目。这些项目是特朗普政府耗资 460 亿美元在南部边境修建 30 英尺高的钢墙、车辆屏障、道路和监控技术的一部分。

法官凯瑟琳·卡多内 (Kathleen Cardone) 在裁决中表示，原告“很可能在诉讼中的至少一项诉求上胜诉，如果没有禁令，他们可能会遭受严重的、无法弥补的损害，而且公平和公共利益的平衡对他们有利。”

美国海关与边境保护局和国土安全部尚未对此事作出回应。

边境墙项目的反对者认为，德克萨斯州的大弯地区地处偏远，地形崎岖，本身就能起到阻止非法移民的作用；政府为了加快边境墙基础设施项目的建设，发布了一系列豁免令，允许其绕过许多法规，违反了法律。

提起诉讼的生物多样性中心的莱肯·乔达尔称卡多内的裁决是“彻底的胜利”。

“在法官做出实质性裁决之前，推土机将被撤走，”乔达尔说。“这对大弯地区、德克萨斯州和宪法来说都是具有历史意义的一天。”

就在几周前，政府于 9 月中旬在大弯地区竖起了第一批边境墙板。

在大弯地区修建边境墙的项目引发了两党的反对。

大部分反对意见都集中在海关和边境保护局在大弯国家公园内的计划上，该公园以其美丽的风景、石灰岩悬崖和清澈的夜空而闻名。

8月份，当人们发现推土机在公园内清理土地时，引发了广泛的反对，共和党人和民主党人都呼吁政府停止这一行动。海关和边境保护局暂停了在该地区的所有活动，但暂停期已于9月30日到期。政府表示正在重新评估国家公园的规划，但迄今为止尚未透露具体方案。

但法官的裁决也适用于国家公园上下游的地区，海关和边境保护局计划在这些地区开展一系列边境基础设施项目，这些项目大多需要在私人拥有的土地上进行建设。