LOCHIEL, ARIZ. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection stated that preconstruction surveys found no active migratory bird nests in the four cottonwood trees identified for removal in Lochiel. Erick Meza, Sierra Club borderlands coordinator, stated he recorded video of an active bird nest in one of the cottonwood trees the day before they were removed.

Why It Matters

The legal and physical confrontations occur as federal funding flows toward barrier construction in the region. The Tohono O’odham Nation filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in June 2026 to block border wall construction on tribal land, while U.S. District Judge Richard Leon declined to issue a preliminary injunction to stop border wall construction on Tohono O’odham land on August 14, 2026.

Disputes over environmental impact and tribal sovereignty continue alongside construction activities. A Government Accountability Office report in 2023 found that border wall efforts caused harm to Indigenous land, including blasting at a tribal burial site, and activists maintain that active bird nests were present in trees targeted for removal.

Timeline

A Government Accountability Office report in 2023 found that border wall efforts caused harm to Indigenous land, including blasting at a tribal burial site. On October 27, 2023, the Board published a final rule that rescinded and replaced a prior rule regarding the standard for determining joint employer status under the National Labor Relations Act.

The Tohono O’odham Nation filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in June 2026 to block border wall construction on tribal land. A continuous tree-sit protest has occupied a 200-year-old cottonwood tree in Lochiel, Arizona, since late July 2026 to oppose border wall construction, and construction workers employed by Fisher Sand & Gravel removed three cottonwood trees in Lochiel, Arizona, on July 27, 2026.

On Wednesday, August 12, 2026, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will open and publicly announce bids received for blocks offered in the Gulf of America Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas One Big Beautiful Bill Act Lease Sale 3. The Tohono O’odham Nation accused approximately 20 masked, armed U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents of trespassing on tribal land to accompany construction workers on August 14, 2026, and U.S. District Judge Leon declined to issue a preliminary injunction to stop border wall construction on Tohono O’odham land on August 14, 2026.

What's New

CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott stated the border wall project will close a dangerous smuggling and trafficking corridor in the remote desert spanning the Tohono O’odham Nation. The Tohono O’odham Nation accused approximately 20 masked, armed U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents of trespassing on tribal land to accompany construction workers on August 14, 2026.

U.S. District Judge Leon declined to issue a preliminary injunction to stop border wall construction on Tohono O’odham land on August 14, 2026.

SLSCO Ltd. has secured over $390 million in funding from the Department of Homeland Security since 2023 to build the border wall in Arizona.

How Sources Differ

Regarding the odham nation, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott stated the border wall project will close a dangerous smuggling and trafficking corridor in the remote desert spanning the Tohono O’odham Nation. The Tohono O’odham Nation statement accused approximately 20 masked, armed U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents of trespassing on tribal land to accompany construction workers on August 14, 2026.

Regarding border wall construction, the Tohono O’odham Nation v. Trump administration court filing shows the Tohono O’odham Nation filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in June 2026 to block border wall construction on tribal land. The One Big Beautiful Bill shows President Donald Trump secured more than $170 billion for border security, with nearly $50 billion allocated to border wall construction.