Big Bend Injunction Puts $7.5B in Border Contracts in Limbo
A federal injunction issued Oct. 2 bars ground-disturbing work across the Big Bend Sector, touching five border contracts worth about $7.5 billion, ENR reports. CBP has not said whether crews are demobilizing.
Market Impact
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone of the Western District of Texas issued the preliminary injunction after a hearing in El Paso. The order bars border barriers, related infrastructure and “any construction or ground disturbing activities” throughout the sector. It also stays the DHS waivers that had let the government bypass environmental, cultural-resource and other requirements, and it requires compliance with otherwise applicable laws.
Per federal records cited by ENR, Barnard Construction holds two of the contracts, totaling nearly $2 billion. Fisher Sand & Gravel holds two totaling about $3.8 billion. Southwest Valley Constructors, a Kiewit unit, holds the $1.72 billion package centered on Big Bend National Park. That contract covers 17 miles of noncontiguous vehicle barriers and about 205 miles of patrol-road improvements in and around the park. Procurement records show its performance period ending May 11, 2027, with options extending into 2028.
Work was already moving. CBP confirmed contractors began erecting 30-ft steel barrier panels Sept. 15 along a 47-mile Hudspeth County stretch, beyond site preparation.
What is not known matters as much. CBP has not said whether contracting officers issued suspension or stop-work directives, whether crews and equipment are being demobilized, or whether site-protection or stabilization work can continue. It acknowledged ENR’s Oct. 5 request but had not responded by press time. Southwest Valley declined to discuss stoppages, schedule or cost impacts, citing its media protocol with CBP. CBP told Marfa Public Radio it is working with the Justice Department on its response and remains “confident in our legal authorities.”
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Pull your stop-work and suspension clauses today. If you work under Barnard, Fisher Sand & Gravel or Southwest Valley, read your subcontract’s notice-to-proceed, suspension and termination language. Ask the prime in writing whether a CBP directive has been passed down. CBP has not publicly disclosed any such directive.
- Document standby costs from Oct. 2 forward. Log idle crews, parked equipment, rental charges and mobilization already spent, with daily timesheets and photos. This is a recommended practice, not something the source says is reimbursable. Recovery depends on your contract terms.
- Confirm payment status with the prime now. Get a written answer on whether work performed through Oct. 2, including steel panel erection in Hudspeth County, is approved and invoiced. Push for clarity on retainage and pending pay applications.
- Ask what work is still allowed. The order covers ground-disturbing activity, but CBP has not said whether site-protection or stabilization work continues. Ask the prime whether erosion control, securing steel or equipment storage is authorized, and by whom, before sending crews.
- Treat schedule relief as unresolved. Southwest Valley’s performance period runs to May 11, 2027. Any extension or change will come from CBP through the prime, not from the court order. The next gate to watch is CBP’s answer on suspension directives, which ENR requested Oct. 5, plus the DOJ response CBP says is in progress.
FieldNews analysis, not sourced from ENR: trades tied to site prep, patrol-road work and barrier erection, such as earthwork, hauling and steel erection, appear most exposed. ENR’s reporting does not break out subcontractors by trade.
