Administration Begins Border Wall Over Tribe’s Objections

PHOENIX (AP) — The Tohono O’odham Nation says armed federal agents accompanied contractors who trespassed on tribal land this week as they began construction of an Arizona section of a border wall. The nation says the contractors violated tribal law despite a federal judge’s order from June clearing the way for work to begin at the border with Mexico. Tribal officials reported that the masked agents of Customs and Border Protection blocked tribal police from removing the contractors Tuesday. The tribe had posted “No Trespassing” signs and the contractors entered tribal land without permission. Federal officials say the wall is direly needed, citing the area’s history as a drug and immigrant smuggling corridor.