The waivers were issued under a 1996 federal law that allows the government to bypass certain legal requirements to speed up border barrier construction.
\n\nThe US Supreme Court on Monday, November 9, 2026, allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to resume construction of border barriers in a remote region of West Texas that includes parts of Big Bend National Park, lifting a lower court order that had halted the project.
\n\nThe court granted the administration’s emergency request to block a federal judge’s October ruling, allowing construction to proceed while a legal challenge brought by environmental groups and other opponents continues.
\n\nIn its brief ruling, the Supreme Court said the government’s interests outweighed the “aesthetic, recreational and environmental harm” alleged by the challengers. Liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only member of the court to publicly dissent.
\n\nThe lawsuit was filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, a Big Bend-area river guide and a group seeking to protect a historic church in Ruidosa, Texas. The challengers argued that the construction could damage wildlife habitats, the park’s landscape and a fragile adobe church.
\n\nThey also challenged waivers issued by the Department of Homeland Security that exempted the project from several environmental and…
Original source: https://www.timesnownews.com/latest-news
