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Thursday, October 22, 2026

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Supreme Court · Thursday, October 22, 2026

Administration asks Court to restart Big Bend wall work

The File desk · Oct. 22, 2026, 6:40 a.m. ET

Confirmed2 primary sources

Status

Confirmed as a filing. The Justice Department on Oct. 21, 2026, asked the Supreme Court to stay a Texas judge's order and to reverse it. The Court has not ruled. Descriptions of the border sector are the government's claims in the application.
  • Confirmed
    Docket 26A560, Mullin v. Friends of the Ruidosa Church, was docketed Oct. 21. The government asked for a stay.
  • Confirmed
    The government's arguments, including its description of the Big Bend Sector, are its claims. No apprehension figures are used.
The Justice Department on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to let border-wall and road construction resume in the Big Bend Sector. The application is Mullin v. Friends of the Ruidosa Church, No. 26A560. The Court has not ruled.1
The docket says that the application for a stay was submitted to Justice Alito. The lower court is in the Western District of Texas, No. 26-cv-1099. The government's application calls the injunction baseless and says it halts a major portion of border-wall construction. It says the Big Bend Sector covers nearly one quarter of the U.S.-Mexico border. That description is the government's. This story does not print apprehension counts, and it does not recite arguments from the other side that this desk did not read.12
The filing asks the justices to lift the order while the case goes on, and to reverse the judge. Wednesday's paper is the request, not a decision.
Why it matters (Estimate). Estimate. Big Bend is a long, remote stretch of the border, including park land. The government wants to build there again while the lawsuit continues. Until the Court acts, the Texas order is what is in force, and the application is only the government's ask.
The docket number on the application is 26A560.
How we know

Notes

  1. 1.Supreme Court docket 26A560, Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of Homeland Security, et al. v. Friends of the Ruidosa Church, et al., docketed Oct. 21, 2026. https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/26a560.html “Application (26A560) for a stay, submitted to Justice Alito.” Western District of Texas No. 26-cv-1099.
  2. 2.Government application. https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/26/26A560/430290/20261021153649084_Ruidosa_Application_Final.pdf “This case involves a baseless injunction that halts a major portion of the construction of the border wall.” “The Big Bend Sector covers nearly one quarter of the U.S.-Mexico border.” Those sentences are the government's. Apprehension figures in the application are not printed. Respondents' arguments were not read and are not printed.

What is still unknown or disputed

  • Whether the Court will grant a stay, and when.
  • The respondents' arguments. Not used.
  • Apprehension totals. Not used.

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    Docket 26A560

    Supreme Court of the United States · October 21, 2026

    The government applied for a stay. The application was submitted to Justice Alito.

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/26a560.html

  2. Source 2

    Application in Mullin v. Friends of the Ruidosa Church

    Supreme Court of the United States · October 21, 2026

    The government asks the Court to lift an injunction on border-wall construction in the Big Bend Sector.

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/26/26A560/430290/20261021153649084_Ruidosa_Application_Final.pdf

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