Trump administration starts building border wall project in Arizona over tribe's objections
- The Trump administration has begun construction on a border wall segment in southern Arizona on land adjacent to the Tohono O'odham Nation's reservation despite the tribe's protests.
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection states the area is a dangerous smuggling corridor, while the tribe claims construction will damage sacred land and constitutes trespassing.
- A federal judge ruled in favor of the government earlier this month, noting the wall would be built on a 60-foot federally owned buffer zone called the Roosevelt Reservation.
- The Tohono O'odham Nation argues that accessing the construction site requires driving through tribal land, which they contend violates their sovereignty regardless of the federal buffer zone.
- The border wall project is part of a $46 billion Trump administration initiative to build 30-foot steel walls and install barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Trump administration has begun construction on a border wall segment in southern Arizona adjacent to the Tohono O'odham Nation's reservation. According to tribal officials, approximately 20 Customs and Border Protection officers and contractors accessed tribal land on Tuesday morning to initiate the project, with drone footage showing roughly 14 vehicles and an industrial drill at the site.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection justified the project by citing the area as a dangerous smuggling corridor responsible for decades of drug trafficking and migrant deaths. However, the Tohono O'odham Nation, with 37,000 members including thousands living in Mexico, contends that construction will cause significant devastation to sacred mountain peaks and alter tribal boundaries. The tribe filed a lawsuit in June attempting to block the wall but was unsuccessful when U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled in favor of the government, determining the wall would be built within a federally owned 60-foot buffer zone.
The tribe maintains that even if construction remains within the federal buffer zone, contractors must traverse tribal land to access the site, which constitutes trespassing and violates tribal codes. Tribal officials report that CBP agents were armed and masked, establishing a vehicle blockade to prevent tribal police from removing contractors. The broader border wall initiative represents a $46 billion Trump administration effort to construct 30-foot steel walls and install barriers across the U.S.-Mexico border, though the project has faced opposition from environmental groups, landowners, and multiple Native American tribes.
特朗普政府在亚利桑那州开始修建边境墙项目，遭部落反对
特朗普政府已开始在亚利桑那州南部修建边境墙段落，位置靠近托霍诺·奥德姆民族保留地。根据部落官员的说法，约20名海关和边境保护局官员及承包商于周二早晨进入部落土地开始该项目，无人机录像显示现场有约14辆车辆和一台工业钻机。
美国海关和边境保护局通过将该地区列为危险走私走廊来为该项目辩护，称其导致数十年的毒品贩运和移民死亡。然而，拥有37000名成员（包括数千名在墨西哥生活的成员）的托霍诺·奥德姆民族声称，施工将对神圣的山峰造成重大破坏，并改变部落边界。该部落于6月提起诉讼试图阻止修墙，但美国地区法官理查德·莱昂裁定支持政府，认定边境墙将在联邦所有的60英尺缓冲区内修建。
该部落坚持认为，即使施工保持在联邦缓冲区内，承包商也必须穿过部落土地才能进入施工地点，这构成非法侵入并违反部落法规。部落官员报告称，海关和边境保护局特工配备武装且戴着口罩，建立了车辆封锁以阻止部落警察移除承包商。更广泛的边境墙计划代表特朗普政府460亿美元的努力，旨在沿美墨边境修建30英尺高的钢铁墙和安装屏障，尽管该项目面临环保组织、地主和多个美洲原住民部落的反对。