The Trump administration on Wednesday filed an emergency appeal asking the Supreme Court to overturn a federal judge’s temporary block on its plans for a border wall and other construction in the Big Bend region.
At the center of the case is more than 500 miles of the southern border that make up the Big Bend region, which includes both state and national parks.
Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone instructed the Department of Homeland Security to reverse course and follow a slew of environmental and historical preservation laws the department had waived earlier this year. On Wednesday, Cardone denied DHS’ appeal that sought to allow the agency’s Big Bend region border plans to resume, leading the administration to bring the matter to the Supreme Court — arguing that the government would otherwise suffer irreparable harm.
“The district court found jurisdiction by flagrantly misreading this Court’s major-questions precedents; proceeded to find a major-questions problem where none exists; then rewrote IIRIRA to hamstring the Secretary’s waiver analysis,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in the appeal, referring to the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, a Clinton-era law that expanded border enforcement.
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“Those errors are so obvious that this Court can swiftly correct them on the merits without further briefing or oral argument,” Sauer wrote.
Landowners and local leaders have pushed back on the administration’s plans for the region for months, citing concerns about construction’s potential to impact the natural environment and questioning the need for additional border wall infrastructure.
Bob Kreumanker, the chair of Keep Big Bend Wild and a former superintendent of Big Bend National Park, said the Supreme Court should “reject this government overreach.”
“The secrecy, the shifting stories, and the refusal to work with local landowners and businesses have angered West Texans and people across the country, and that opposition crosses party lines,” Kreumenaker wrote in a statement. “This is the epitome of government overreach and a betrayal of Texas’ Gift to the Nation.”
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