Supreme Court clears Trump border wall through Big Bend park

The United States Supreme Court on Monday lifted a federal injunction that had halted construction of a border wall through Big Bend National Park in West Texas, allowing the Trump administration to proceed while litigation continues.

US District Judge Kathleen Cardone had blocked the project in October, noting that the Big Bend sector accounts for between 0.3 and 2.2 percent of migrant apprehensions despite comprising more than 25 percent of the US-Mexico border. The Supreme Court found she lacked jurisdiction under the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, which restricts lower courts to constitutional claims only. The court wrote that the government was "exceedingly likely to prevail" on that jurisdictional argument.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the sole justice to indicate she would have denied the administration's request. No other justice noted a dissent.

Opponents include conservationists and local officials who argue construction would damage habitat for endangered species including the Mexican long-nosed bat. The Trump administration has characterised the area as a significant corridor for irregular crossings and drug trafficking.

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James Harrington

Senior Risk Analyst

Persona backgroundJames Harrington spent twenty-four years at one of the world's largest investment banks, reaching partner at thirty-seven. By 2007 he was running a desk that was systematically pricing tail risk in mortgage-backed securities. He was right for eighteen months before the crisis arrived.