Trump Border Wall Construction Kept on Hold by Appeals Court

  • Panel majority finds president’s funding plan unconstitutional
  • Dissenting circuit judge faults ruling’s ‘risky approach’

A construction crew works on replacing the U.S.-Mexico border fence as seen from Tijuana, in Baja California state, Mexico, on Jan. 9. 

Photographer: Guillermo Arias/AFP via Getty Images

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A federal appeals court kept in place a judge’s ruling barring the Trump administration from moving ahead with construction projects for a southern U.S. border wall using funds not approved by Congress.

The order issued Wednesday by a three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based court was in response to an administration request for permission to begin the process of spending $1 billion from the Defense Department for border wall construction in Arizona and New Mexico while the court fight continues.