Thursday is last day for public comment on CBP’s plans for new border wall in Az

The public has until Thursday, Oct. 29 to comment on U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s plans to build 62 miles of border wall along the southern edge of the Tohono O’odham Nation.

In July, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin waived dozens of federals laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act to build the new wall, as well as fiber optic cables, light poles, surveillance cameras, and new patrol roads along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The project includes replacing 53 miles of low-slung vehicle barriers with a 30-foot high wall.

The tribe allowed construction of vehicle barriers along the border—including “Normandy barriers” — over the past decades, however, tribal officials have pushed back at the proposed installation of 30-foot walls, filing a lawsuit in Washington D.C.

The nation’s border with Mexico is the second-longest international border of any Native American reservation in the United States, and the longest along southern border.

CBP said they are “currently engaged” in project planning and sough public review
and comment. “Helpful comments are fact-based, include links to data or research, and
provide specific information concerning potential impacts on biological, cultural, and natural
resources,” the agency said. “If you are providing a comment about a specific area, please specify that in your
comment.”

The agency will accept comments until Oct. 29 via email at TucsonComments@cbp.dhs.gov.

Emailed comments should include the subject line “Tucson Sector Border Barrier System
Construction.”

Comments may also be submitted to CBP by calling (833) 412-2056, and the agency will accept comments by mail at: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol Headquarters, Program Management Office Directorate, at1300 Pennsylvania Ave. 6.5E Mail Stop 1039, Washington, DC 20229-1100. ATTN: Michelle Barnes.

While the agency moves forward on the project, the Tohono O’odham Nation filed a lawsuit and sought a preliminary injunction blocking construction. A federal judge in Washington D.C. rejected their request, however, the tribe asked the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to intervene and oral arguments are scheduled for Dec. 1.

Meanwhile, tribal leaders have waited for CBP contractors to come and attempt to remove hundreds of saguaros and ocotillos from their land. CBP told the court this effort would begin on Oct. 12, and O’odham leaders prepared for a clash between federal officials and tribal members that has yet to come.

After the lawsuit was filed, CBP awarded the project — dubbed Tucson 5 Project — to SLSCO LTD, a Texas construction company, backed by nearly $47 million in funding from Congress authorized last year. CBP officials told the court a secondary wall was not part of the award to SLSCO, but said this was an “option.”

The agency engaged in a similar effort last year, asking for public comment on about 61 miles of primary and “secondary” wall in Pima, Yuma, Santa Cruz and Cochise counties.

From Nov. 20 through Dec 22, 2025, the agency received nearly 11,000 comments, largely from a comment from “provided by a non-governmental organization,” as well as 41 individual comments, CBP said.

Of the 41 comments, there were 32 focused on the “impact of border barrier construction on
wildlife and the environment, describing how the barrier would fragment habitats and block
movement corridors essential for species survival,” the agency said in a summary report. There were comments that criticized how the project would cut through a keystone wildlife corridor, “warning that the loss of connectivity could isolate
populations and increase vulnerability to disease and environmental change.”

Other comments criticized the project’s affect on local aquifers and the proposed floodlights, which could disrupt nocturnal
wildlife and bird migration, warning that “increased lighting would interfere with natural
cycles, disorient migratory birds, and diminish dark sky values.”

Additional commenters criticized CBP for the “lack of meaningful consultation with tribal nations and warned of irreversible harm to sacred sites, burial grounds, and traditional cultural
properties central to Indigenous identity and heritage.”

CBP responded to the comments by claiming the agency was “committed to responsible environmental and cultural stewardship” and set up “best management practices” to “avoid or minimize impacts to resources.” The agency later asked for additional comments across nearly 225 miles of border wall.