Judge Kathleen Cardone Halts Big Bend Border Wall
On October 2, 2026, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone granted a preliminary injunction in El Paso, halting all border barrier construction and ground-disturbing activities in the Big Bend Sector. Filed by legal teams at the Center for Biological Diversity, the lawsuit challenges a $7.5 billion border-barrier project across the region.
Judge Cardone ruled from the bench that the plaintiffs’ constitutional claims to halt the construction were likely to succeed. The preliminary injunction remains in effect while the lawsuit continues to play out in court.
Lawsuit Claims Border Wall Projects Violate Separation of Powers
The lawsuit was filed in April against the Department of Homeland Security and its secretary by the Center for Biological Diversity on behalf of the Friends of the Ruidosa Church and Rio Grande river guide and landowner Danny William Miller. The legal challenge argues that the five contracted border wall projects are unconstitutional because they violate the separation of powers and deprive citizens of their land.
During the four hours of testimony, Miller testified that the government building a wall across his property and blocking access to the river was like a bullet to the head.
Zeynep Graves, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, argued in her closing statements that The harm reaches far beyond the landscape itself.
Hudspeth County resident Bill Guerra-Addington also testified that a border barrier would be a death sentence for his ranch, stating, They’re taking the river away from us, and it’s devastating.
DHS Argues for Infrastructure Despite Low Migrant Apprehensions
The Department of Homeland Security maintains that physical border infrastructure is necessary in the Big Bend to achieve operational control. Former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem previously issued a series of waivers easing contracting laws across the southwest border, stating that the administration had delivered a secure border while arguing that more can be done.
However, the Big Bend sector covers about a quarter of the border length but accounts for only 1% to 3% of migrant apprehensions by U.S. Customs and Border Protection annually.
Border Patrol Reports 88,595 Apprehensions in Big Bend Sector
The Department of Homeland Security has been repeating the same numbers since October 15 of last year: Between fiscal year 2021 and July 2025, the United States Border Patrol (“Border Patrol” apprehended over 88,595 illegal aliens attempting to enter the United States between border crossings in the Big Bend Sector.