The Tohono O’odham Nation says approximately 20 masked, armed Customs and Border Protection agents accompanied construction workers to three locations on its land in Arizona before dawn on Tuesday. The tribe accused the agents and workers of trespassing as construction began on a disputed section of the US-Mexico border wall.
According to the tribal government, CBP blocked tribal police from issuing trespassing citations and used a vehicle blockade, a SWAT team, a tethered surveillance balloon and Mexican police to protect or monitor the activity. The tribe said interactions with federal law enforcement remained peaceful and professional.
Why the tribe is opposing the project
The Nation says it was not asked for consent before construction and argues that taking tribal land for the barrier would violate Indigenous rights and its sovereignty. It has also warned that the project could cause irreversible environmental and cultural damage, including harm to sensitive habitats and sacred sites.
In June, the Tohono O’odham legislature voted unanimously to sue the Trump administration over efforts to appropriate land for the wall. The tribe says it has spent millions of dollars helping federal authorities combat irregular border crossings and drug smuggling, and that cross-border detentions have fallen by more than 95 percent as a result.
Key points
- The Tohono O’odham Nation has about 37,000 members and territory spanning Arizona and Sonora, Mexico.
- Its land follows roughly 100km (62 miles) of the US-Mexico border.
- Tribal members in both countries often cross the border using tribal identification cards without passports or other documentation.
The legal dispute over federal authority
On August 14, US District Judge Richard Leon declined to issue a preliminary injunction that would have stopped construction on Tohono O’odham land. The Tuesday activity appears to have followed that ruling, although the tribe continues to challenge the project in court.
The Trump administration argues that land roughly 18 metres (60 feet) around the border is federal land under a 1907 proclamation. The Tohono O’odham Nation says federal action on its reservation disregards its sovereignty. A 2023 Government Accountability Office report found that border-wall construction had harmed Indigenous land, citing blasting at a tribal burial site and changes to water flows.
What happens next
The Tohono O’odham Nation said it would continue monitoring interactions between its police and federal law enforcement while its lawsuit proceeds.
No comments yet. Start the discussion.