Mary Cantrell | Marfa Public Radio

Emails shared with Marfa Public Radio show U.S. Customs and Border Protection quietly paused construction on part of the Big Bend border wall a week before a federal judge ordered the work halted. A CBP official wrote that the internal pause stemmed from a lack of access to private land and a federal contractor's demand for more money.

A legal battle over the Trump administration's plan for border barriers across the Big Bend region is now in the hands of the nation's highest court. Marfa Public Radio spoke with SCOTUSblog founder and reporter Amy Howe about what could happen next.

Let Texans Do Texas, a newly-launched nonprofit, is calling on state and federal leaders to create a $2 billion border security fund specifically for the Big Bend region as an alternative to the Trump administration's border wall plans. The group says it's advocating for a local approach, rather than a "one-size-fits-all federal construction program."

The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to allow construction on border walls and other barriers across the Big Bend region of West Texas to continue. The request comes after a federal district judge blocked the construction amid an ongoing legal fight.

Facilities set to house hundreds of border wall construction workers have cropped up in remote Big Bend communities, prompting complaints from locals to state regulators over public health concerns. An investigation by Marfa Public Radio reveals the state's response to those complaints has been hindered by the Trump administration's move to bypass federal laws for the $7 billion project.

The Trump administration on Thursday asked a federal judge to allow border construction to resume across the Big Bend region. The administration says it plans to take the case to the Supreme Court.

At a Friday hearing in El Paso, a U.S. District Judge ordered all construction on the Big Bend area border wall project to stop immediately — including in Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park. The order also included the stay of federal waivers that expedited the project.

Pacifico Energy, the company developing a massive natural gas power plant and data center owned by Amazon in Pecos County, met with officials in neighboring Brewster County this week about the possibility of a similar project northwest of Alpine.

A federal judge on Sunday rejected a Presidio, Texas entity's request to block construction over claims that the Trump administration violated the Rivers and Harbors Act in pursuing the border wall build near the city's levee system.

Texas General Land Office Commissioner Dawn Buckingham on Friday sent cease and desist letters to Barnard Construction and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, claiming the border wall contractor had performed "illegal" land clearing work on state-owned land in southern Presidio County.