Tohono O'odham Nation sues US over border wall construction on reservation
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The Tohono O'odham Nation sued the US government to halt border wall construction on its Arizona reservation. The tribe said about 20 armed Customs and Border Protection agents accompanied workers to three sites before dawn on Tuesday. The lawsuit follows years of conflict over the wall, which the tribe says threatens sacred sites and habitats.
Key Facts
- The Tohono O'odham Nation said approximately 20 masked, armed Customs and Border Protection agents accompanied construction workers to three locations before dawn on Tuesday.
- CBP prevented tribal police from issuing trespassing citations to the contractors, according to the tribe's statement.
- The Tohono O'odham Nation has about 37,000 members and its territory spans roughly 100 km (62 miles) of the US-Mexico border.
- The tribe said CBP deployed a SWAT team and a tethered surveillance balloon to protect the contractors.
Border Wall Dispute
The Tohono O'odham Nation filed a lawsuit against the US government to stop construction of a border wall through its reservation in Arizona. The tribe said approximately 20 masked, armed Customs and Border Protection agents accompanied construction workers to three locations before dawn on Tuesday. CBP prevented tribal police from issuing trespassing citations to the contractors, according to the tribe's statement. The agency cordoned off the area with a vehicle blockade and deployed a SWAT team to protect the contractors, the statement said.
Tribal Sovereignty
The Tohono O'odham Nation is a federally recognised tribe of about 37,000 members whose territory spans roughly 100 km (62 miles) of the US-Mexico border. Its land straddles the US state of Arizona and the Mexican state of Sonora, with members in both countries who often cross using tribal identification cards. Under US law, federally recognised tribes are considered domestic dependent nations that exercise sovereignty over their own land and are not subject to state-level laws. The degree to which federal authorities can impose their will on tribal nations has long been the subject of heated legal battles, with the border wall at the centre of some of those fights.
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Tohono O'odham Nation sues US over border wall construction on reservation
