Summary
The U.S. Supreme Court allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to resume construction of border barriers and roads in Texas’s Big Bend region, including parts of Big Bend National Park. The court paused a lower court order that had halted the work while a legal challenge proceeds, finding that the government’s interest in expedited border construction outweighed the harms alleged by the challengers.Key Facts
- The unsigned, five-page ruling granted the administration’s emergency request to suspend the lower court order.
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only justice to dissent.
- The challengers include the Center for Biological Diversity, a Big Bend river guide and a church preservation group; they argue the project threatens wildlife, public lands and cultural and historic resources.
- The administration cites a 1996 law that lets the homeland security secretary waive legal requirements, including environmental protections, in areas designated for high levels of illegal border crossings.
- The administration plans more than 300 miles of six-foot vehicle barriers and supporting roads in the region.
- Customs and Border Protection has awarded five contracts worth more than $6 billion for Big Bend border security upgrades, including fencing, vehicle barriers and surveillance technology.
- CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said construction was advancing at about 12 miles per week and was expected to finish by the end of Trump’s second term.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.
