The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for the Trump administration to proceed with border wall construction through a remote section of Big Bend National Park in West Texas, lifting an injunction while the legal challenge continues, Al Jazeera reported.

The court granted the government’s emergency request on Monday, Nov. 9. It said the lower court’s construction pause impeded the government’s “compelling interests” in border security and integrity.

The lawsuit challenges waivers the Department of Homeland Security used to bypass environmental and conservation requirements for the project. Plaintiffs include the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Ruidosa Church and a local river guide and landowner.

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone blocked construction in October. She noted that the Big Bend sector covers more than a quarter of the U.S.-Mexico border but accounts for only 0.3 to 2.2 per cent of migrant apprehensions, according to Al Jazeera.

The administration has described the area as a route for irregular border crossings and drug trafficking, arguing that construction is an urgent security priority.

The Supreme Court said the government was “exceedingly likely to prevail” on its argument that Cardone lacked jurisdiction under the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. That law limits district courts to hearing constitutional challenges involving border barriers. The justices found that the challengers’ claim did not qualify.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only justice to indicate that she would have denied the government’s request. She did not explain her reasoning.

Conservationists, local officials and some Republicans have opposed the project, saying it would disrupt an ecologically and culturally significant landscape. The park’s mountains and desert support endangered species, including the Mexican long-nosed bat.

The plaintiffs argue that, without the waivers, construction would have to comply with legislation including the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act.

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