Supreme Court paves way for Trump to build a section of his border wall in the Big Bend area of Texas

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday allowed President Donald Trump to move forward with construction of his border wall in the remote Big Bend region of southwest Texas.Construction there had been challenged by an environmental group and locals who say it would damage the environment and historic sites.The justices lifted an injunction imposed by a federal judge in Texas that had blocked construction while litigation continues.In a five-page unsigned decision, the court said that the federal judge who ruled on the issue had no authority to do so.Of the nine justices, only liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.The segment of the border adjacent to the Rio Grande is sparsely populated, with the Trump administration saying that 89,000 people have been detained trying to enter the United States there in recent years.Demonstrators rally against the construction of a section of the U.S.-Mexico border wall at Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend National Park, Texas, on Aug.12.Kaylee Greenlee / Bloomberg via GettyThe section in question, which the government says would involve 341 miles of construction, includes Big Bend National Park.

The legal dispute focuses on three waivers issued by then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in February and her successor Markwayne Mullin in May and July that allowed the government to evade environmental and conservation laws.In a court filing, Solicitor General D.John Sauer said Congress in 1996 gave the government “broad authority” to build border infrastructure without getting tied up in red tape.For SubscribersFOR SUBSCRIBERSBig tasks await as Congress returns after Democratic surgeFOR SUBSCRIBERSThey fled Democratic-run states to escape liberal policies.

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