Trump administration asks Supreme Court to restart Big Bend border wall work
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to let border wall work resume in and around Big Bend National Park. A federal judge in Texas blocked the work earlier this month. The government's top lawyer at the court called her order a "baseless injunction."
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to let border work start again in and around Big Bend National Park in Texas, The Washington Post reported. The Post said the work covers a more than 500-mile stretch.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer asked the justices to lift a "baseless injunction that halts a major portion of the construction of the border wall," the Washington Examiner reported. The order came from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas earlier this month.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone blocked three waivers that the Department of Homeland Security used to speed up the work, the Washington Examiner said. Environmental groups had sued. They argued that the work would harm the region. They also said the homeland security secretary could not waive the rules.
The government's filing says the waivers cover walls and roads spanning over 300 miles in the Big Bend Sector. That sector takes in nearly a quarter of the U.S.-Mexico border, the filing says. It says the judge found the waivers went too far. Her reason was that the area has fewer illegal crossings than other places.
DHS points to a 1996 law, the Washington Examiner reported. The law lets it waive legal rules to build barriers where many people cross illegally. Sauer wrote that the government has an "extraordinarily strong" interest in ensuring that 25% of the border has barriers.
Under that law, the judge's order can be reviewed only by the Supreme Court, the filing says. The administration asked the court to pause the order. It also asked the court to take up the case and reverse it.
The justices have no set timeline for ruling on emergency requests, the Washington Examiner noted. The groups that sued include the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Ruidosa Church, according to the filing.
What we know: The administration has asked the Supreme Court to pause a Texas judge's order blocking Big Bend border wall work.
What we don't: When the justices will act, or how the groups that sued will respond.
Where outlets agree The Washington Post and the Washington Examiner both report that the administration asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to lift an injunction blocking border wall work in the Big Bend area.
Where they differ The cited reports agree on the key facts so far.