Customs and Border Protection agents entered the lands of the Tohono O'odham Nation at 4 a.m. Aug. 25 to begin pre-construction work on segments of the border wall, which tribal officials have fiercely opposed.
The tribe reported the activity in a news release early on Aug. 26.
"Border wall contractors and approximately 20 masked, armed Customs and Border Protection agents from the Tucson Sector entered the Tohono O'odham Nation and began engaging in pre-construction activities," the tribe said.
The agency moved in the day after the tribe, Rep. Adelita Grijalva and a group of journalists toured Quitobaquito Springs and other sites affected by earlier border wall construction.
The statement also said CBP and the Department of Homeland Security asked
Mexican police to keep guard over the Sonoran side of O'odham lands during construction.
Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott issued a statement on Aug. 25.
"U.S. Customs and Border Protection is moving forward with a 62-mile project to close a longstanding border security gap in southern Arizona, known as the Tucson 5 project. The project will close one of the most dangerous smuggling and trafficking corridors on the Southwest border: remote desert that has facilitated decades of drug loads, migrant deaths, and cartel activity.
"Congress funded this work, a Federal court has affirmed it, and CBP is carrying it out under the legal authorities that apply."
The tribe said a longtime partnership with the U.S. Border Patrol has greatly reduced illegal border crossings. Officials also told The Arizona Republic that the tribe spends about $3 million annually to supplement the Border Patrol's efforts, which include below-ground and aerial surveillance, vehicle barriers in key passageways, watchtowers and heavy manpower on the ground.
The tribe filed a lawsuit to halt any wall construction, based on the fact that their reservation status had been finalized after the issuance of a "Roosevelt Reservation," a 60-foot-wide strip of land running along the entirety of the U.S.-Mexico border.
A federal judge denied the tribe's request for a preliminary injunction, but Tohono O'odham leaders said the tribe would continue litigation.
This is a developing story. Check back with azcentral.com for updates.
Debra Krol reports on Indigenous communities at the confluence of climate, culture and commerce in Arizona and the Intermountain West. Reach Krol at debra.krol@azcentral.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @debkrol and on Bluesky at @debkrol.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Masked agents enter Tohono O'odham lands to start wall construction
