Federal judge blocks construction of Trump’s border wall in Texas’s Big Bend

A federal judge in Texas dealt a serious blow on Friday to the Trump administration’s plans for the southern border, temporarily blocking construction of the border wall and associated infrastructure in the Big Bend area, as CNN reports.

The decision is a major victory for the region’s landowners, businesses and environmentalists. The projects are part of a $46 billion effort to cover the southern border with steel walls about 9 metres high, barriers, roads and surveillance technology.

Judge Kathleen Cardone ordered that the plaintiffs are “likely to succeed on the merits of at least one of the claims”, that they would suffer “serious, irreparable harm” without an injunction, and that the balance of interests and the public interest lean in their favour.

The lawsuit was filed by the Center for Biological Diversity. Its representative Laiken Jordahl called the decision a “total victory”: “The bulldozers will be sent back until the judge decides on the merits.”

Builders erected the first wall panels in the Big Bend sector in mid-September, while opposition to the project has been bipartisan. In August, bulldozers were seen clearing land inside Big Bend National Park; the customs service CBP suspended the activities, but the pause expired on September 30. The judge’s order also extends to areas downriver and upriver from the park, including private land.