The United States has resumed a project to build approximately 62 miles, nearly 100 kilometers, of border wall along the Arizona-Mexico border, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office confirmed on Tuesday.

Why it matters: The construction would reinforce an extensive stretch of the border, but it faces opposition from the Tohono O’odham Nation due to its potential impact on tribal lands and culturally and spiritually significant sites.

CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott confirmed that the project, known as Tucson 5, has been reactivated as part of the reinforcement of the southwest border.

US Reactivates 62-Mile Border Wall Project in Arizona

The agency maintains that the desert area has been used for decades for drug smuggling, human trafficking, and other activities linked to criminal organizations.

CBP’s stance: Scott described the area as one of the most dangerous corridors for smuggling and trafficking in the southwest border.

The project is part of the efforts by the administration of Donald Trump to expand physical barriers along the US-Mexico border once again.

However, the administrative reactivation does not mean that the 62-mile wall is being built immediately.

The fact: Court documents indicate that CBP does not anticipate starting construction activities for Tucson 5 before October 12, 2026.

Tohono O’odham Nation Continues Its Battle Against the Wall

The announcement came after a federal judge rejected the Tohono O’odham Nation’s request to temporarily block construction in southern Arizona.

The Nation argued that the project could affect its reservation and constitute a federal invasion of lands it considers essential to its cultural and spiritual identity.

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The judge concluded that, at this stage of the case, the tribe did not demonstrate that construction would illegally reduce its reservation or constitute the alleged invasion.

The limit: The decision allows the project to move forward, but it does not put an end to the judicial dispute over the wall’s construction.

The controversy is particularly relevant because the Tohono O’odham Nation’s territory stretches for approximately 62 miles along the US-Mexico border.

Lawmakers Call for Construction Halt in Arizona

US Reactivates 62-Mile Border Wall Project in Arizona
US Reactivates 62-Mile Border Wall Project in Arizona. Photo: Efe

Democratic Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva, along with three other representatives, asked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) to immediately suspend construction on Tuesday, according to Efe.

The lawmakers argue that the federal government did not conduct sufficient consultation with tribal nations before moving forward with projects that could affect their territories.

«We are extremely concerned that the federal government did not carry out significant consultation,» the representatives stated in their request.

The dispute: The lawmakers warn about potential effects on sacred sites, cultural resources, and ancestral territories of tribal communities.

They also questioned the use of public funds to build secondary border barriers and asked for an evaluation of other security strategies.

Among these, they mentioned modernizing and strengthening ports of entry, through which people and goods cross legally between the two countries.

The Project Moves Forward, but the Dispute Continues

For now, the judicial ruling eliminates one of the immediate obstacles facing Tucson 5 and allows the federal government to continue preparing the project.

What’s next: The Tohono O’odham Nation is keeping its legal dispute open, while lawmakers are pressuring DHS and the Interior to stop the construction and conduct new consultations.

The case pits two positions against each other: the government defends the wall as a border security tool, while its opponents demand protection for tribal territories and sacred sites.