Reuters
Source: Reuters
The US Supreme Court gave President Donald Trump’s administration the green light on Monday to proceed with the construction of barriers along the US-Mexico border in a remote region in West Texas that includes Big Bend National Park, fast-tracking one of his longstanding priorities.
The court granted the administration’s emergency request to lift a federal judge’s order halting the border wall’s construction in the region while a lawsuit against the project brought by an environmental group and other challengers plays out.
The Republican president has long touted building or reinforcing barriers along the US-Mexico border as a signature part of his sweeping restrictions on immigration.
But his administration’s push to extend border infrastructure into the national park, around 250 miles (400 km) southeast of El Paso, has faced opposition from local officials, conservationists and even some Texas Republicans.
“The government’s interest,” the court said in its brief ruling, “outweighs any aesthetic, recreational and environmental harm alleged by respondents.”
Liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only member of the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, to publicly dissent from the decision.
