A federal judge’s Oct. 2 injunction against construction of border barriers in the Big Bend region of Texas banned ground-disturbing work on five federal border infrastructure contracts worth about $7.5 billion, leaving contractors awaiting direction on what work can proceed.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone of the Western District of Texas issued the preliminary injunction after a hearing in El Paso. His order prohibits border barriers, related infrastructure and “any construction or land disturbance activity” in the US Border Patrol sector of Big Bend.
The order requires the government to comply with applicable laws and maintain federal waivers that the US Department of Homeland Security had used to avoid environmental, cultural resource and other requirements to speed construction.
The immediate impact on the contracts themselves is less clear. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has not said whether contracting officers issued formal stop-work or suspension directives, whether crews and equipment are being demobilized, or whether site protection, stabilization or other work may continue.
CBP acknowledged ENR’s Oct. 5 request for those details, but did not respond by press time. Southwest Valley Constructors, the unit of Kiewit Corp. which has the $1.72 billion contract centered on Big Bend National Park, told ENR it could not answer questions about work stoppages, demobilization or schedule and cost impacts under its media protocol with CBP. The contractor referred these questions to CBP.
CBP has said separately that it is working with the U.S. Department of Justice in its response to the ruling and remains “confident in our legal authorities to secure the border while preserving the unique landscape of the Big Bend region,” according to public radio MARFA.
ENR reported on Sept. 16 that federal contractors were already working on several of the five Big Bend projects. CBP later confirmed that contractors began erecting 30-foot-tall steel barrier panels on Sept. 15 along a 47-mile stretch in Hudspeth County, moving work from site preparation to vertical construction.
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Federal records show the five contracts covering the industry total about $7.5 billion. Barnard Construction Co. has two contracts totaling nearly $2 billion, Fisher Sand & Gravel Co. it has two for a total of about $3.8 billion, and Southwest Valley has the $1.72 billion contract involving Big Bend National Park.
The Southwest Valley contract covers 17 miles of non-contiguous vehicle barriers and about 205 miles of patrol road improvements and other infrastructure in and around the park. Federal procurement records show the current performance period ends May 11, 2027, with options extending through 2028.
ENR file
Construction of CBP borders
ENR reports from the start of President Trump’s second term
ENR has tracked federal border construction from renewed procurement and field mobilization to enforcement issues, Big Bend expansion and litigation.
The terrain raised infrastructure concerns
Questions about whether the extensive physical barriers suited the region’s terrain predated the court order. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in August called on DHS to consult with local officials before proceeding, citing “the 1,000-foot riverbank cliffs and remote Big Bend terrain” as existing obstacles to unauthorized crossings.
Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland, a former Border Patrol agent, has argued that existing technology and detection infrastructure offer a better approach to parts of the region.
“That’s what we need most here in Big Bend, and infrastructure like roads that can be reworked,” Cleveland said in an interview in August. “I don’t think we need new roads.”
National Parks Conservation Association President and CEO Tiernan Sittenfeld raised a different construction issue after Cardone’s ruling: What happens to areas already disturbed by the construction.
“It’s time for the administration to come to the table with the border communities who know the Big Bend best, repair the damage of this ill-conceived project and find new solutions,” Sittenfeld said in a statement.
Completion image of waiver stay changes
One immediate issue is Fisher’s $1.22 billion contract around Presidio, where planned construction would affect the city’s flood control system. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers told the Presidio Municipal Development District in May that it had not been formally engaged by DHS, CBP or a contractor for construction adjacent to the Presidio Flood Control Project.
The Presidio Flood Control Project levee follows the Grand River around Presidio, Texas across from Ojinaga, Mexico. The planned construction of the border wall along the seawall has raised concerns about the potential effects on the flood control system. Click to enlarge.
Map courtesy of the US Section, International Boundary and Water Commission
The Corps said construction crossing two Cibolo Creek levees built by the Corps would normally require a federal permit under Section 408 of the Rivers and Harbors Act.
DHS later relied on its July 2 resignation in separate Presidio litigation. In August, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton ruled that the waiver defeated the development district’s Rivers and Harbors Act claim while the waiver remained in effect.
Cardone’s injunction now stays on that waiver and requires the government to otherwise comply with applicable laws.
Federal records do not yet show whether CBP has formally suspended the five contracts or how the move could affect its schedules and costs.
Southwest Valley’s $1.72 billion contract has a current performance period that ends in May, and Fisher’s $2.59 billion contract runs through July. CBP has not said whether those schedules will change or whether contractors will remain mobilized during the mandate.
