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Judge Clears 62-Mile Border Wall on Tohono O’odham Land

8/16/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Judge Richard Leon cleared a 62-mile border wall on the Tohono O'odham Nation reservation in Arizona.
Leon rejected the tribe’s trespass claim, citing Roosevelt’s 1907 proclamation that gives the federal government control of 60 feet of land along the border.
The Nation warned the wall would destroy sites, including the 1,000-year-old Las Playas intaglio.

History

Historical Context

In 1907 President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed a 60-foot federal reservation along the Arizona-Mexico border to keep public lands free of obstruction and curb smuggling. The Trump administration’s 2019 transfer of that land to the Department of Defense enabled a 62-mile wall, and in August 2026 Judge Richard J. Leon ruled the reservation still allows construction, rejecting the Tohono O’odham Nation’s trespass suit.

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Story summary

Judge Richard Leon cleared a 62-mile border wall on the Tohono O'odham Nation reservation in Arizona.
Leon rejected the tribe’s trespass claim, citing Roosevelt’s 1907 proclamation that gives the federal government control of 60 feet of land along the border.
The Nation warned the wall would destroy sites, including the 1,000-year-old Las Playas intaglio.

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