A federal judge in Washington, D.C., rejected the Tohono O’odham Nation’s request to halt a 62-mile border wall project along its Arizona reservation’s border with Mexico, allowing the Trump administration to continue planning construction while the tribe weighs its next legal steps.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon denied the requested preliminary injunction Friday, Fox News reported. In an 18-page opinion, Leon found the Nation was unlikely to prevail on claims that the wall would unlawfully diminish reservation boundaries or amount to trespassing on tribal land. He said federal interests in securing the border, enforcing immigration laws and protecting public safety outweighed the potential harms at this stage.
The dispute centers on the Roosevelt Reservation, a 60-foot strip of public land along the U.S.-Mexico boundary reserved for federal control by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1907. Leon noted the modern Tohono O’odham reservation was established in 1917 and that the Nation approved vehicle barriers within the federal strip in 2004. The government claims that contractors have been instructed to keep the project footprint inside that corridor.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection awarded SLSCO Ltd. the Tucson 5 Wall Project contract June 26 to build approximately 62 miles of primary border wall system. The court said construction was not expected to begin before Oct. 12.
The Nation sued in June, arguing the project could damage sacred peaks and cultural sites, disrupt religious practices, and separate O’odham communities on opposite sides of the border. Chairman Verlon Jose said the ruling failed to address harm to tribal land and the permanent destruction of sacred sites. He said the Nation would consider all available options.
Leon emphasized that the government should follow through on promises to consult and cooperate with tribal leaders. The decision denies temporary relief but does not end the underlying lawsuit.
