Overview
- U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone issued the injunction on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, barring any construction or ground‑disturbing activity across the roughly 500‑mile Big Bend sector, including Big Bend National Park.
- The order also prevents the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection from relying on waivers that had been used to fast‑track projects until the court resolves the legal challenge.
- The lawsuit was filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Ruidosa Church, and a Big Bend river guide and landowner who say waivers discarded laws such as the National Park Service Organic Act and the Endangered Species Act.
- CBP had paused work inside the park in mid‑August, that pause lapsed on Sept. 30, and the agency had signaled construction could resume before the court froze activity; CBP said planned park work focused on roads, vehicle barriers and detection systems rather than 30‑foot steel panels.
- The ruling freezes actions that could cause irreversible harm to landscapes and cultural sites and creates a test case for how broadly the executive branch may use waiver authority and pursue land access or eminent domain for future border projects.