Trump administration starts building border wall project in Arizona over tribe's objections
The U.S. Border Patrol keeps watch along the US-Mexico border Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Douglas, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin,File)
PHOENIX (AP) — The Trump administration has begun work on a project to build a stretch of border wall in southern Arizona along part of a Native American tribe’s reservation, pushing ahead with one of its signature projects despite protests from the tribe.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection says the area is a dangerous smuggling route and that building the wall will close a longstanding security gap. But members of the Tohono O'odham Nation, whose membership spans both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, have accused the administration of trespassing and say the construction will damage land sacred to the tribe.
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