U.S. Customs and Border Protection contractors uprooted "Grandmother Tree," reportedly centuries-old
Monday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection contractors uprooted the "Grandmother Tree," a reportedly centuries-old cottonwood tree that environmental advocates and Southern Arizona tribal members have been trying to protect. For weeks, protestors have occupied the land around the tree to prevent border wall construction, where the Department of Homeland Security is currently building a second, interior border wall.
Advocates say that construction is endangering key habitats and migration patterns of wildlife, members of the Tohono O'odham Nation also say DHS is ignoring their tribal sovereignty as they extend the wall onto or near their land.
KTAR News has reached out to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for comment on the tree's uprooting, as well as details on arrests of protestors in recent weeks.
