TUCSON, Ariz. — Southern Arizona residents have until Oct. 29 to file comments on a U.S. Customs and Border Protection plan for about 62 miles of new or upgraded border barrier on the Tohono O’odham Nation in Pima County.
CBP says the project would swap roughly 53 miles of vehicle barriers for 30-foot pedestrian fencing built from steel bollards with anti-climb features, plus about nine miles of new barrier system. Depending on operational needs, the package could add fiber optics, cameras, power lines, east-west access roads and utility shelters along the international line.
A July 21 Department of Homeland Security waiver under immigration-reform statutes is meant to speed construction by setting aside certain environmental and other requirements. In August, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., denied the Nation’s bid for a preliminary injunction, clearing a path for work to continue while tribal leaders weigh further legal options.
Chairman Verlon M. Jose has said a wall would desecrate sacred areas, burial sites and cultural landscapes, citing past damage at places such as Las Playas, Monument Hill and Quitobaquito Springs. DHS, for its part, says Secretary Markwayne Mullin respects tribal sovereignty and pledges ongoing coordination to minimize impacts.
Fact-based comments with data links can go to TucsonComments@cbp.dhs.gov (subject: “Tucson Sector Border Barrier System Construction”), by phone at 833-412-2056, or by mail to CBP’s Program Management Office in Washington. Names and addresses become part of the public record — a last formal window before steel and roads reshape a stretch of desert the O’odham have called home for generations.