Tohono O'odham Nation Says Border Wall Would Destroy Sacred Land in Lawsuit Against DHS

Representative Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) is backing a sovereign Native American nation's legal fight against the federal government over plans to build a border wall through its reservation, a project tribal leaders say betrays decades of cooperation with Washington.

KGUN9 reported the Tohono O'odham Nation filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week, seeking to halt construction before contracts are awarded, something tribal leaders say could happen within weeks.

The reservation spans 62 miles along the U.S.-Mexico border in southern Arizona and has been a focal point of federal border enforcement for decades.

Tribal officials argue the relationship with federal agencies has historically been cooperative.

Over the years, the Nation allowed the installation of vehicle barriers, surveillance towers, patrol roads, and Border Patrol facilities, all with the shared understanding that a permanent wall would never be part of the arrangement. Leaders say that agreement is now being broken unilaterally.

The Lawsuit

The lawsuit contends that moving forward with wall construction would encroach on tribal sovereignty, effectively shrinking the reservation by taking land and resources without authorization.

The Nation also argues the project would cause irreversible harm to sacred sites and disrupt religious and cultural practices that have defined the community for generations.

Chairman Verlon Jose said the tribe didn't arrive at litigation lightly explaining the Nation had repeatedly pursued alternative approaches, supporting modern surveillance technology and increased personnel, but felt it had run out of other options after those efforts went nowhere with DHS.

Tribal officials also pushed back on the national security rationale for the wall, pointing to their own data showing illegal crossings on reservation land have dropped by more than 95% over the past two years under existing measures.

Grijalva was direct in her criticism, arguing the federal government has no legal standing to override tribal sovereignty for a construction project the data suggests isn't necessary.

"DHS should not be allowed to steamroll a second border wall through lands that are sacred to the Tohono O'odham Nation," she wrote on X. "Respecting tribal sovereignty is not optional — it is the law."