Tohono O’odham Tribe Opposes Border Wall Project
Officials from the Tohono O’odham tribe have provided an update regarding their efforts to block the Trump administration from initiating a 62-mile border infrastructure project that runs through the Roosevelt Easement, located between the southern edge of the tribe’s reservation and the U.S.-Mexico border. The tribe claims that armed and masked Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents accompanied border wall contractors on Tuesday, violating the tribe’s laws.
This week, the tribe reported the arrival of approximately 20 masked, armed CBP agents from the Tucson Border Patrol Sector, who entered the Tohono O’odham Nation to escort contractors involved in the border wall construction. The tribe noted that these contractors began preliminary work on federal lands after accessing the Roosevelt Easement through the reservation.
The tribe asserts that the contractors were trespassing, as per Tohono O’odham Code, Title 4, Chapter 2, which deals with “Civil Trespass; Removal and Exclusion of Nonmembers.” According to the tribe’s announcement on Tuesday, the contractors initiated activities at three different locations within the Roosevelt Easement, employing drill trucks to conduct soil sampling and other procedures.
This latest development follows a federal judge’s rejection of a request for a preliminary injunction aimed at halting the construction while litigation progresses through the courts.
Tribal officials explained that the CBP escort team consisted of officers assigned to the Tucson 5 project, which included members of the BORTAC Tactical Team and various Bureau of Indian Affairs officers. Additionally, a tethered balloon is reportedly being used for enhanced surveillance of the area involved in the project.
Earlier in August, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon had denied the tribe’s attempt to obstruct the CBP’s strategy to construct the border wall across the 62-mile stretch within the easement, also referred to as the Roosevelt Reservation. The project is slated to feature not just the wall but also smart technologies, including lighting and cameras.
In his ruling against the preliminary injunction, Judge Leon dismissed the claim that the project would change the established borders of the Tohono O’odham Reservation, arguing that the tribe’s lawsuit “is unlikely to succeed on the merits.” This decision was seen as a significant triumph for the Trump administration, compelling CBP to expedite the project’s completion.
Prior to the reported trespassing, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott had indicated that his agency would proceed with the project following the denial of the tribe’s injunction request.
The Tohono O’odham reservation spans 2.8 million acres along the U.S.-Mexico border in southern Arizona, with tribal members residing on both sides. The tribe states that several thousand members live in seventeen communities located in Mexico directly across from the U.S. reservation.
The tribe’s legal standing is complicated by the Roosevelt Easement established in 1907, which designates a 60-foot-wide strip of land as federal property, aimed at addressing smuggling issues. This easement runs along the border, adjacent to the 62-mile international boundary separating the Tohono O’odham reservation from Mexico.
According to a source within the Department of Homeland Security, significant equipment required for the project’s initial phases has already been transported through the reservation to the federal Roosevelt Easement. This source, who wished to remain anonymous, shared that CBP and Border Patrol continue to communicate with tribal officials to address concerns amicably, while remaining committed to completing the project.
Funding for this initiative is sourced from provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill, which allocated $46.5 billion for border wall construction and related infrastructure enhancements.
