Order 5-4 represents a loss for environmental groups represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, which had asked judges to lift an order from a year ago that allowed the government to continue building the wall pending appeals. It is a victory for Trump, who has made the construction of the wall a cornerstone of his presidency.
Judge Stephen Breyer, accompanied by Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor dissented. Breyer noted that by the time the court reaches the merits case, part of the wall may already be complete.
“The Court’s decision to allow construction to continue, however, I fear may work in effect, as a final ruling,” Breyer wrote.
The dispute concerns the ACLU’s challenge to use the Pentagon’s $ 2.5 billion to build parts of the wall along the southwest border. Last month, a federal appeals court ruled against Trump, arguing that the administration does not have the authority to divert funds from the Pentagon to build additional barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border without authorization from Congress. But the opinion did not take immediate effect due to last year’s Supreme Court order that is still in effect.
“The Trump administration has lost in all lower courts, but is still rushing to complete the president’s border wall before the Supreme Court can review the merits of this case,” said Dror Ladin, staff attorney for the National Security Project. from the ACLU in a statement earlier. The order was issued.
He said that if the Supreme Court did not lift its own suspension, the wall would be built by the time the court decided whether to deal with the case.
Justice Department attorneys urged judges to leave their stay in place, noting that the government plans to ask the Supreme Court to handle the case in early August. Such a timeline would mean that judges could decide in early fall whether to listen to the dispute.
“As the government previously explained, stopping the construction process during the litigation imposes significant costs on the Department of Defense, which may be required to reimburse its contractors for the additional expenses that such delay causes them,” argued government attorneys.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
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