A federal judge in El Paso has issued an emergency injunction blocking the Trump administration from continuing to build vehicle barriers, patrol roads and lighting tied to a border infrastructure project in the Big Bend Sector of West Texas, including inside Big Bend National Park.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone issued the order Friday after hearing witness testimony in a lawsuit brought against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin by Friends of the Ruidosa Church and other plaintiffs. The suit challenges the federal government’s use of waiver authority under environmental law to speed up the project’s completion.
In her ruling, Cardone wrote that the plaintiffs “are likely to succeed on the merits of at least one of the claims in suit, that there is a likelihood that they will suffer serious, irreparable harm without an injunction, and that the balance of the equities and the public interest weigh in their favor.”
Her order to the federal government was direct: “Effective immediately and until the Court orders otherwise, Defendants SHALL NOT build border barrier or related infrastructure, or engage in any construction or ground-disturbing activities, in the Big Bend Sector until and unless Defendants comply with all applicable laws.”
The case, Friends of the Ruidosa Church et al. v. Mullin et al. (Case No. 3:26-cv-01099-KC), is before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. Cardone was appointed to that court by President George W. Bush in 2003.
Plaintiffs and Opposition
One of the plaintiffs is a river guide and landowner in the Big Bend region. The lawsuit targets the waiver process used to build border security infrastructure within Big Bend National Park, Big Bend Ranch State Park and across the wider Big Bend region, located in Brewster County.
Laiken Jordahl, national public lands advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity, which is also a plaintiff, called the ruling a major win.
“This is a historic victory for Big Bend and everyone who loves this wild corner of Texas. No administration has the right to destroy a crown-jewel national park for political theatre. With a federal court ordering the bulldozers to stop, Big Bend gets to breathe. But this fight is far from over. We won’t rest until Big Bend’s environmental protections are fully restored and the illegal waiver that allowed so much destruction is gone for good.”
The project had already drawn bipartisan criticism before Friday’s ruling. In mid-August, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott paused the infrastructure work underway in the park. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) joined local officials and James Talarico, the Democratic nominee in Texas’s 2026 U.S. Senate race, in opposing the construction.
Ranchers near the park have also pushed back against physical barrier installation on private land. Many hold large tracts of property and worry about losing access to parts of it, as well as about how a greater federal presence might affect livestock and hunting.
What CBP Says Is Planned
CBP has said its plans for the park involve building one new access road, improving existing roads, installing detection technology and placing vehicle barriers at limited, strategic locations. The agency has said the work does not include construction of a 30-foot border wall within the park.
For now, under Cardone’s order, all of that work remains frozen until the court decides otherwise.
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