Arrests and Cutting of the “Grandmother” Cottonwood Amid Arizona Border Wall Construction

Activists who had been camped around a centuries-old cottonwood tree in the San Rafael Valley for more than 70 days were confronted by Border Patrol agents on Monday. The tree, dubbed “the Grandmother” by protesters, was felled by contractors while agents entered a private-land encampment. Activists reported that ten people were cited and released and that ten additional protesters were arrested, including a “tree sitter” removed with a crane. The operation followed the earlier removal of three neighboring cottonwoods to clear space for the wall.

KJZZ - NPR - Phoenix

The incident occurred as part of the Trump administration’s effort to construct two parallel steel bollard walls across sections of the Arizona-Mexico border, including the biodiversity-rich San Rafael Valley near the town of Lochiel. Contractors had identified four cottonwood trees in the area for removal to accommodate the wall. The wall construction proceeds amid record-low migrant apprehensions nationwide, a trend the administration cites as evidence of the wall’s necessity.

KJZZ - NPR - Phoenix

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson said the agency had identified the four cottonwoods for removal and that environmental monitors were present before work began. CBP did not answer questions about whether agents had a warrant to enter the private property or about the arrests.

Newsweek

• “She [the tree] fell all at once, and she’s in the easement. She never fell on private property, she never fell on any of us, because she wouldn’t do that,” — Kate Scott

KJZZ - NPR - Phoenix

• “So there was nothing, no safety, just violence and brutality toward us.” — Kate Scott

KJZZ - NPR - Phoenix