Daijiworld Media Network – Washington
Washington, Aug 28: The Trump administration has begun construction of a section of the US-Mexico border wall in southern Arizona on land within the Tohono O’odham Nation’s reservation, despite opposition from the Native American tribe.
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said the area is a major route for drug smuggling and migrant trafficking, and that the wall would help address a longstanding security gap along the border.
However, the Tohono O’odham Nation has accused the administration and contractors of trespassing on tribal land and warned that the construction could damage areas considered sacred to the community.
The tribe said around 20 CBP officers, along with contractors, entered its land early Tuesday to begin work. Drone footage released by tribal officials reportedly showed several vehicles and an industrial drilling machine at the site.
The wall project forms part of the Trump administration’s broader $46-billion border security programme, which includes 30-foot steel bollard walls, vehicle barriers and surveillance technology.
The construction has faced opposition from landowners, environmental groups and Native American tribes, who have raised concerns over property rights, environmental damage and the destruction of culturally significant sites.
The Tohono O’odham Nation, which has around 37,000 members, including thousands living in Mexico, filed a lawsuit against the federal government in June seeking to stop the construction.
The tribe argued that the project could cause significant damage to the reservation, including the destruction of sacred mountain peaks and changes to the boundaries of the nation.
However, US District Judge Richard Leon earlier this month allowed the government to proceed with the construction. The judge noted that the proposed wall would be built within a 60-foot-wide buffer zone of federally owned land known as the Roosevelt Reservation.
The tribe, however, maintains that contractors must cross tribal land to reach the construction sites and that such access amounts to trespassing.
According to tribal officials, CBP agents were armed and masked and established a vehicle blockade to prevent tribal police from removing the contractors. No physical confrontation has been reported so far.
CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott defended the project, saying the remote desert area has been used for decades by drug smugglers and human traffickers.
The tribe said it was considering further legal action to remove the contractors from its land.
Texas-based SLSCO Ltd., which is undertaking the Arizona border wall construction, has received more than $390 million in funding from the US Department of Homeland Security for border wall projects since 2023.