Court blocks all construction and ground disturbance in the Big Bend Sector and suspends the waivers that let the government ignore dozens of federal laws
EL PASO — A federal judge on Friday ordered the federal government to stop building border barriers, roads and related infrastructure across the Big Bend region.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone granted a preliminary injunction from the bench at the end of an evidentiary hearing in El Paso. Effective immediately, her order bars the government from building border barrier or engaging in “any construction or ground disturbing activities, in the Big Bend Sector until and unless Defendants comply with all applicable laws.”
“For months we’ve watched the federal government send bulldozers into a national park that belongs to all of us. Today a federal judge told them to stop,” said Clara Bensen, director of communications for No Big Bend Wall and a board member of Conserve Big Bend. “Since we learned the Trump administration planned to seize public and private land and destroy the Big Bend region as we know it, this community has come together across the political aisle to fight back. The government tried to ignore the law to build unnecessary border infrastructure, and the court made clear it can’t. This is a victory, but we are not letting our guard down.”
The judge also put the Big Bend waivers on hold. The government used those waivers to set aside dozens of federal laws, including the Endangered Species Act, to fast-track construction through Big Bend National Park, Big Bend Ranch State Park and the surrounding region. While the injunction stands, the waivers have no effect.
Judge Cardone found that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits and are likely to suffer serious, irreparable harm without an injunction. She also found that the balance of equities and the public interest weigh in their favor. The injunction stays in place until the court orders otherwise.
The Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Ruidosa Church and Danny William Miller, a Rio Grande river guide and landowner, brought the case. Attorneys from the Center for Biological Diversity and the Texas Civil Rights Project represent the plaintiffs.
In a separate case, Conserve Big Bend and six landowners sued DHS and CBP in federal court in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 14. Conserve Big Bend represents an additional 230 landowners in the case, which is one of six lawsuits filed over the Big Bend wall so far. The lawsuit argues that Big Bend does not meet the “high illegal entry” standard DHS must satisfy to waive dozens of federal laws and fast-track a wall. The complaint shows that the Big Bend Sector has recorded the fewest apprehensions of any southwest border sector every year for 53 years, and apprehensions there dropped 74% between fiscal years 2023 and 2025. That suit also asks the court to block construction across the region.
Bulldozers began cutting into Big Bend National Park near Santa Elena Canyon on Aug. 6 and plowed new routes on both the east and west sides of Mariscal Mountain. After widespread public backlash, Customs and Border Protection paused construction on Aug. 17. That pause expired Sept. 30, and crews could have returned at any time.
The Big Bend Sector covers 517 miles, more than a quarter of the U.S.-Mexico border. It accounted for just 1.3% of all border apprehensions in 2025.
###
No Big Bend Wall (NBBW) is a community coalition focused on public education, transparency in federal decision-making, cultural and environmental resource protection, landowner rights, and due process in response to the proposed wall. NBBW is a fast-growing, advocacy-focused group with a diverse range of stakeholders including landowners, conservationists, tour guides and river outfitters, archaeologists, artists, park enthusiasts, policy experts, and more. 