This weekend, the Tohono O’odham Nation in southern Arizona made a public service announcement, alerting that federal border wall contractors may soon encroach upon its sovereign lands and be deemed trespassers.
According to the Tohono O’odham Code, the tribe may impose up to a $5,000 fine for each count of civil trespassing. Tribal police would dispatched to escort any offender off the reservation. It shares a 62-mile boundary with Mexico, which is where the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is looking to erect a border wall.
The Tohono O’odham Nation has sued, claiming its sovereignty would be violated should the Trump administration be allowed to proceed with construction along the Roosevelt Reservation, a 60-foot-wide strip running along the boundaries of Arizona, California and New Mexico.
No trespassing signs have been raised across the 2.8-million-acre reservation.
Leadership clarified that non-members — including employees or residents, guests of tribal members, travelers on public roadways and vendors tied to the Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise — may still travel freely “without any restrictions.”
While Customs and Border Protection is aware of the tribe’s warning, the federal law enforcement agency told KJZZ that it declined to comment on the trespassing claim due to that ongoing litigation.
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