Construction has begun on a section of border wall in Arizona, part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to enhance border security, but the project has ignited strong objections from the Tohono O'odham Nation. The tribe asserts that the construction is damaging land considered sacred and is occurring on their ancestral territory.
The project involves building 30-foot steel bollard walls, vehicle barriers, and implementing technology aimed at curbing illegal immigration and smuggling. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) stated that the desert region, which spans the Tohono O'odham Nation and crosses the U.S.-Mexico border, is a significant route for drug smuggling. Officials have described the area as a major corridor for illicit activities, including migrant deaths and cartel operations.
The Tohono O'odham Nation, with 37,000 members, many of whom reside in Mexico, filed a lawsuit in June seeking to halt the construction. The tribe's legal challenge contended that the project would cause "significant devastation" to the reservation, including the desecration of mountain peaks that hold spiritual importance.
However, a federal judge rejected the tribe's argument, ruling in favor of the government. The court noted that the wall would be constructed on a 60-foot-wide buffer zone of federally owned land known as the Roosevelt Reservation. The judge's opinion stated that the government had not yet articulated plans to build outside this designated federal land.
Despite the ruling, the tribe maintains that the construction constitutes trespassing. Tribal officials reported that masked CBP agents set up a vehicle blockade to prevent tribal police from removing contractors who they claim were working illegally on the reservation. According to tribal officials, contractors, accompanied by agents, were observed conducting soil sampling and other activities near the border.
The tribe has indicated that it is exploring further legal avenues to remove the contractors from the land. CBP and the Tohono O'odham Nation did not immediately respond to requests for comment.