A federal judge has once again stepped in to halt critical border security measures, this time freezing construction of border barriers in Texass Big Bend region and Big Bend National Park.
According to Gateway Pundit, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone, a George W. Bush appointee, granted a preliminary injunction that stops not only the wall itself but also patrol roads, border barriers or related infrastructure. The ruling hands a major victory to environmental activists who have long opposed physical border enforcement, even as communities along the Rio Grande continue to grapple with the consequences of federal inaction.
The lawsuit was brought in April by the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental advocacy group that claimed the projects lacked proper approval from Congress. Judge Cardone sided with the plaintiffs and ordered contractors to cease bulldozing and road-clearing operations while the case proceeds through the courts.
As reported by the Texas Tribune and read aloud from the bench, A judge on Friday blocked further border barrier construction in the Big Bend region, approving an environmental groups motion for a preliminary injunction. Cardone further instructed the courtroom to remain calm as she delivered her decision, underscoring the political sensitivity surrounding any effort to secure the southern border.
She ruled that the plaintiffs constitutional claims to halt the construction were likely to succeed and her preliminary injunction against ground-distrurbing activities would remain in effect while the suit continued to play out in court. The Center for Biological Diversity filed the case against the Department of Homeland Security and its secretary on behalf of Friends of the Ruidosa Church and Rio Grande river guide and landowner Danny William Miller, who claims he could lose property to the wall.
The complaint asserts that five contracted border wall projects in the region are unconstitutional, alleging violations of the separation of powers and unlawful deprivation of citizens land. While activists celebrate, many border residents and security advocates will see this as yet another example of the judiciary and environmental lobby obstructing physical border security that President Donald Trump and conservatives have long argued is essential to national sovereignty and the rule of law.
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