Overview
- U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone issued the injunction on Friday, Oct. 2, preventing Customs and Border Protection from building barriers, roads or other ground‑disturbing infrastructure across the roughly 500‑mile Big Bend sector.
- The court found the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on at least one claim and said they would suffer irreparable harm without the order, so it enjoined construction and prohibited reliance on the administration’s previously issued waiver authority.
- The suit was filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Ruidosa Church and a Big Bend river guide and landowner and challenges DHS/CBP’s use of sweeping waivers that plaintiffs say bypassed the National Park Service Organic Act, the Endangered Species Act and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
- The injunction covers Big Bend National Park and surrounding private lands where CBP had planned vehicle barriers, patrol roads, lighting and detection tech, and it comes after crews cleared land in August and a pause on activity that lapsed Sept. 30.
- The ruling could limit the administration’s ability to fast‑track similar border projects nationwide by forcing agencies to follow environmental and preservation laws and it leaves open possible next steps including further court briefing, appeals, and agency compliance or redesign of the Big Bend plan.