Tohono O'odham Nation Denied Injunction to Halt Border Wall

Tohono O'odham Nation Denied Injunction to Halt Border Wall

Photo courtesy tree sitters in Lochiel, Arizona

By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, August 15, 2026

The Tohono O'odham Nation was denied an injunction to halt construction of the border wall on Friday by a federal judge who ruled the government's interests outweigh other possible harms. The judge failed to uphold the tribe's right to their land and to protect it from being diminished by the border wall. Further, the judge ruled that the border wall would not be illegal trespass.

"We strongly disagree with this ruling and are considering all possible options for moving forward," Chairman Verlon Jose and Vice Chairwoman Carla Johnson said in a statement.

"The primary concern is that the court did not adequately address many critical issues that the construction of a border wall will have on our Nation, our people, our land our culture. It is imperative that these concerns be addressed before any construction or pre-construction activities are done by the federal government on our land."

"As the nation's executive leadership, working with the Legislative Council, we have a responsibility to fight for our people, our land, and our culture, our sovereign rights as a Nation and the lands we have inhabited since time immemorial."

Pointing out that the border wall will destroy sacred sites, damage the environment and further separate O'odham, tribal leaders said sacred places have already been desecrated.

"We have seen this happen to our traditional lands outside our reservation, the Las Playas, Intaglio, Quitobaquito Springs, Monument Hill and countless others. In many of these cases, federal authorities were aware these were protected areas, but they were still desecrated."

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington, D.C., ruled the tribe hasn't established that a border wall will change its reservation boundaries without congressional authority, AP reports.

The judge also rejected the tribe's claim that the planned border wall would illegally trespass on its reservation.

“And in any event, I find that the Government’s interests in securing the border, enforcing immigration laws, and ensuring public safety outweigh any surviving irreparable harms at this juncture,” Judge Leon wrote.

"Given the national security and foreign policy considerations related to the border wall, deference to the government is warranted,'' he wrote.

Judge Expects Government to Consult with Tribe

After rejecting the Tohono O'doham Nation's arguments, Judge Leon said in his closing remarks in the order that he expects the government to follow through with consultation and cooperation with the Tohono O'odham Nation.

"The international border is an area of great significance to both the United States and to the Nation. While I have concluded that a preliminary injunction is unwarranted, I fully expect the Government in the months ahead to follow through on its guarantees of consultation and cooperation with the Nation to address the Nation's concerns regarding border wall construction!"

Judge Leon ruling concludes with the government's assurance that some of the environmental and First Amendment issues could be mitigated, since the government has not finalized its border wall plans. The government said some issues could be mitigated, such as the possible addition of crossing gates for O'odham to pass through, referring to the fact that O'odham live on both sides of the international border.

In addition, the judge said a 60 foot stretch of land known as the Roosevelt Reservation "likely exists" along the border of the Tohono O'odham Nation. He said  there is no indication that the border wall will be built beyond the 60 feet.

Judge Leon was referring to the Roosevelt Reservation, established by a presidential proclamation of President Theodore Roosevelt in 1907. The 60-foot-wide strip was established as a buffer zone to prevent drug smuggling. The federal government claims the 60 mile stretch along the border in California, Arizona and New Mexico belongs to the government.

Fast Tracking and Waiving Laws

Judge Leon also wrote in the decision, "To fast-track border construction, Congress authorized the Secretary to 'waive all legal requirements ... necessary to ensure expeditious construction of the barriers and roads under this section.'"

Building the border wall would led to “significant devastation” on the reservation, including the destruction of mountain peaks that are sacred to the O’odham, tribe attorneys said.

“It would fray the ties between O’odham communities and families on opposite sides of the border, interfere significantly with O’odham religious rituals and practices, and destroy plant and animal resources sacred to the O’odham,” the lawyers wrote.

Federal Judge's Ruling Excerpt

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U.S. Manufactured Crimes and Spied on Peaceful Protesters During Minneapolis Metro Surge, New Court Filing Reveals

Tipis stand at Mni Owe Sni (Coldwater Spring), a sacred site for the Dakota and other tribes, across from the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building on Tuesday in Minneapolis.Kerem Yücel | MPR News, Feb. 11, 2026.

U.S. Manufactured Crimes and Spied on Peaceful Protesters During Minneapolis Metro Surge, New Court Filing Reveals

By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, August 14, 2026

MINNEAPOLIS -- While Dakotas were praying at a sacred spring for those held in federal detention at the Whipple building in Minneapolis -- the U.S. government was spying on, and stalking, the Whipple watchers, a new court document reveals.

The government is now refusing to release all of its documents on its surveillance of those watching the Whipple building. The Whipple building is on the site of a former concentration camp, where Dakota and Ho Chunk were imprisoned, suffered and died.

"The government admits withholding at least five Project Whipple Shield ROIs (Reports of Investigation) from the initial disclosures," states the court document filed yesterday.

Dakotas who suffered and died in the concentration camp here were remembered as Native Americans led a protest to the Whipple building where migrants were held during the ICE sweeps in Minneapolis.

The court document for discovery filed yesterday is part of a criminal case against 15 people arrested. Defense attorney Kevin Riach describes how the U.S. government infiltrated groups with undercover officers, spied on and tracked peaceful protesters during the resistance to Operation Metro Surge.

Not only were peaceful protesters spied on, stalked and doxxed, but the surveillance was carried out to "manufacture" crimes when none existed, states the court document filed by the defense attorney for one of the government's targets.

The government's Homeland Security Investigations and Department of Justice targeted Free Speech activities protected by the First Amendment, the court filing states.

"The government’s initial disclosures reflect that HSI and DOJ embarked on an improper investigation of First Amendment protected activity without any suggestion that the investigation’s targets had committed any crime. Indeed, HSI undercover officers seemingly sought to manufacture a basis for prosecution where no crimes had been committed."

Minor Crimes Bloated into 'Domestic Terrorism'

"In the immediate aftermath of Alex Pretti’s murder, Singh directed federal
prosecutors to aggressively charge protesters in Minnesota. According to the New York Times: In a conference call in late January, the official, Aakash Singh, laid out the
department’s basis for prosecuting demonstrators: National Security Presidential Memo 7, a sweeping directive issued by President Trump last September. It expanded the definition of domestic terrorism to include not only violent crimes like assault, but also relatively minor ones, like revealing the personal details of agents or getting in the way of immigration enforcement."

Undercover agents carried out surveillance in churches, parks, libraries, schools and union halls. It stalked Facebook and extracted photos there. 

The groups that Homeland Security targeted are described in its investigation titled:  "DAMN: Direct Action Minnesota." Those targeted included the Grease Pit bicycle repair shop.

Image from court filing yesterday.

Homeland Security "secretly obtained financial records for several

national labor unions, including SEIU and the Communications Workers of America, and social justice non-profits including the Sunrise Movement and Voices for Racial Justice, all with zero criminal predicate to do so," the court document states.

"At Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Roseville, agents captured license plate
information of attendees during a meeting of anti-ICE protesters and activists. Agents then used this information to obtain the names of the attendees, searched social media for pictures of these individuals, and compiled an “intel workup” that included names, photos, addresses, personal information – including family and employment information – and vehicle registration information, for each meeting attendee. None of these individuals did anything other than engage in protected First Amendment speech in a church meeting room."

Blueprint for Prosecution and Harassment

The government's agenda is exposed in the court filing. 

"On September 25, 2025, President Trump kicked off a new era of political
prosecutions by issuing NSPM-7. Ex. 27."

"NSPM-7 is a blueprint for prosecution and harassment of those who protest ICE abuses or otherwise oppose this administration. It references protests of ICE activity in Portland and Los Angeles (labeling them “riots”) and describes these protests as “a culmination of sophisticated, organized campaigns of targeted intimidation, radicalization, threats, and violence designed to silence opposing speech, limit political activity, change or direct policy outcomes, and prevent the functioning of a democratic society," the court filing states.

The Political Prosecutions Did Not Stop in Minneapolis

Assistant Deputy Attorney General Aakash Singh directs the prosecutorial priorities of U.S. Attorneys’ offices around the country, the court document states.

"Singh has directed U.S. Attorneys’ offices to initiate political prosecutions in other
districts. He directed prosecutors to investigate and pursue charges against George Soros and his Open Society Foundation."

"And he pushed the recently announced indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Alabama. The House Judiciary Committee has begun an investigation into that case after receiving “whistleblower reports that [Singh] ordered the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama to rush through the indictment of the SPLC despite serious concerns about the strength of the case," the court filing states.

A.I. Used by Government to Prosecute

Clearview A.I., artificial intelligence was used by the government in its spying, tracking and arrests, states the defense attorney for Issac Sant's in the court filing.

"The use and abuse of Clearview AI to compile a photo dossier of Mr. Sant and others

– especially uncharged protesters and activists – is relevant to Mr. Sant’s selective
prosecution and outrageous government conduct motions. It also constitutes impeachment evidence regarding the shoddy nature of the investigation and the imprecision of the agents."

The motion for discovery was filed in federal court in Minneapolis on Aug. 13, 2026 by Kevin C. Riach, attorney for defendant Issac Sant.

Business Times points out that documents also show agents monitored activist chats, used license plates to identify meeting attendees and obtained years of certain financial records involving organizations including the Sunrise Movement, SEIU and Communications Workers of America.

"One DHS slide titled “The Conspiracy” identified 18 organizations, ranging from a small bicycle collective to the AFL-CIO. Defense attorney Kevin Riach called the effort a “broad and irrational investigation” driven by politics rather than criminal conduct."

The HIll reports that the records were disclosed in a criminal case against 15 people charged in June with conspiring to interfere with federal officers during the protests.

"Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) launched “Operation Puppet Master” on Jan. 28, four days after the killing of U.S. citizen Alex Pretti by a federal officer, to investigate the alleged organized network of conspirators."

Two weeks later, Project Whipple Shield was launched with undercover agents.

Native Americans Falsely Arrested During ICE Raids 

Native Americans were grabbed and arrested during the sweeps in Minneapolis. Across the United States, Navajos and Lakotas were arrested in the Phoenix area, Denver and elsewhere. They were abused, their documents ignored and they were arrested.

ICE terrorized Native Americans during the seeps. Peter Yazzie, Navajo, was on his way to work in the Phoenix Valley when he was grabbed by ICE and his documents ignored. A Pascua Yaqui tribal member grabbed near Tohono O'odham's San Xavier District, bordering Tucson, revealed how federal agents are terrorizing U.S. citizens and migrants in detention.

A Pascua Yaqui falsely arrested by ICE said federal agents told those arrested that  they could "kill" them if they wanted. While the Yaqui's tribal documents were declared fake, cries and screams could be heard from detainees.

"They had also told me they would 'Do anything in our power to have illegals like you deported and if not killed.' I told them that wasn't true, that I am from here, and that I am a U.S. citizen."

"I was escorted out, and as I walked past, I heard certain agents making comments like 'I can't wait to get rid of them all' and 'I'm gonna turn them into my slaves.'"

In Oklahoma, Absentee Shawnee were harassed and detained by ICE agents.

A Native American woman was protected from arrest in Minneapolis when her community surrounded her. In a horrifying arrest, ICE punched Jose, Red Lake Chippewa, in the face repeatedly and dragged him from his vehicle. As Jose was complying, an ICE agent beat him in the face with his fist, as shown on video, while his aunt was screaming for help. 

The Oglala Lakota Nation in South Dakota banned ICE from Pine Ridge and rejected a federal immigration agreement, during a special session of the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council on Jan. 21, 2026. Then, other Lakota Nations followed and banned ICE from tribal lands.

Kristi Noem headed Homeland Security during the ICE Raids until March of 2026. Noem was banned by tribes in South Dakota from entering tribal lands when she was governor of South Dakota. She was banned after making false accusations that tribes were involved in criminal activity in 2024.

Excerpt from court filing:

"This case involves an unprecedented campaign by DHS to spy on Minnesotans.
During Operation Metro Surge, undercover agents posing as protesters surveilled
community meetings at churches, parks, libraries, schools and union halls. These agents
surreptitiously recorded dozens of conversations with ordinary people who were simply
exercising their First Amendment right to protest ICE’s lawless rampage in our state. The
agents gathered information about Minnesotans from law enforcement databases and
internet searches, and created dossiers that are apparently now available agency-wide.
HSI’s abuses did not stop there. HSI secretly obtained financial records for several
national labor unions, including SEIU and the Communications Workers of America, and
social justice non-profits including the Sunrise Movement and Voices for Racial Justice,
all with zero criminal predicate to do so."

"The government’s presentation to the grand jury reflected this broad and irrational
investigation. With no evidence, the government alleged to the grand jury that the conspiracy in this case extends far beyond the defendants to include the AFL-CIO, the
Minneapolis Federation of Educators, the Minnesota Association of Professional
Employees, Monarca, Veterans for Peace, and the Grease Pit bicycle repair shop, among
others."

"These wild conspiracy allegations are born from the fantasies of political retribution
that animate the Trump Administration. President Trump and senior administration
officials routinely speak of the political left in de-humanizing terms – as “deformed,”
“scarred,” and “filled with ugliness,” for example.
The court document continues at: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.234415/gov.uscourts.mnd.234415.212.0.pd

Community, Labor, Faith Groups Call for Solidarity as Federal Government Targets Minnesotans Who Organized Against ICE Violence

Statement on Aug.13, 2026

Community, Labor, Faith Groups Call for Solidarity as Federal Government Targets Minnesotans Who Organized Against ICE Violence

SAINT PAUL, Minn. – A broad coalition of civil society groups responded with a call to unity in the face of reports that the Trump administration’s Department of Justice may have investigated without reason and engaged in surveillance of community and labor groups who helped organize tens of thousands of Minnesotans to peacefully defend their neighbors and constitutional rights during the lawless, chaotic ICE and CBP operation that terrorized countless Minnesotans. 

These organizations were engaged in the broad, peaceful civic response that brought hundreds of thousands of us together to protect our neighbors and our constitutional rights. Amid the continued weaponization of the Justice Department, we still have zero accountability for the ICE and CBP agents who terrorized countless Minnesotans and murdered Renee Good and Alex Pretti in broad daylight. Even then, they tried to lie about what happened despite video evidence.

Today, groups representing Minnesotans across parties and places, races and backgrounds issue the following statement:

“We know the truth, and we will not be intimidated. When self-serving politicians are losing, they lie and attempt political repression, trying to silence the voices of those who bravely stand up to them. Minnesotans will not be intimidated or divided by sham accusations or investigations of some of the countless groups and community members who organized, acted, and stood up together to protect their neighbors during Operation Metro Surge.

“This winter, Minnesotans stood together in rejecting the Trump regime's occupation of Minnesota. Trump’s ICE and Border Patrol agents broke countless laws while kidnapping Minnesotans based on racial profiling, violating our constitutional rights, and murdering our neighbors. In response, Minnesotans organized at an extraordinary scale. Across the state, Minnesotans joined with community, faith, labor, and neighborhood organizations to build networks that protected our neighbors and defended our constitutional rights.

“Hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans took action together, including constitutional observation, sharing food, filing legal briefs, protecting kids on their way to school, and marching in subzero weather to protect our neighbors and restore the rule of law. Minnesotans’ organized, peaceful response protected our neighbors, defended constitutional rights, and constrained abuses of federal power, showing what Minnesotans can accomplish when we act together.

“Around the country, the Trump regime’s weaponized DOJ is lashing out desperately in hopes of intimidating people and organizations that have shown the power of communities acting together to challenge abuses of government power and defend democracy. They are doubling down on their lies. In cases ranging from the Reflecting Pool in DC to the false accusations against a Minnesota man shot by ICE through a doorway, their charges have often crumbled or been withdrawn when evidence proved them false. 

“Minnesotans have already proven we won’t cave to bullies. We know the power we have when we organize and act together, and we’ll continue using that power to defend our neighbors and our freedoms. That’s what we do.”

Signed by:

AFSCME Council 5

AFSCME Local 2822

CAIR-Minnesota

Communities United Against Police Brutality

CTUL

CWA Local 7250

East Central Minnesota Area Labor Council

Education Minnesota

FairVote Minnesota

Faith in Minnesota

Future of Us

Gender Justice Action

Golden Valley Save Our Democracy Indivisible

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (“IAM Union”)

IAM Union, District 77

Indivisible South Metro MN, Bloomington

Indivisible St. Peter/Greater Mankato

Indivisible Twin Cities

Inquilinxs Unidxs por Justicia

ISAIAH 

Jewish Community Action

LIUNA Local 363

Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation

Minneapolis Regional Retirees Council, MLFRF, AFL-CIO

Minneapolis Starbucks Workers United

Minnesota 50501

Minnesota AFL-CIO

Minnesota Alliance for Retired Americans

Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE)

Minneapolis Federation of Educators

Minnesota Nurses Association

NALC Branch 9

The New Justice Project Minnesota

North Dakota AFL-CIO

North STAR Alliance

Northern Plains United Labor Council

OPEIU Local 1

OutFront Minnesota

Pride At Work

Racial and Economic Justice Committee of the Minnesota AFL-CIO

Remember 1934 Collective

Reviving Sisterhood

Saint Paul Federation of Educators

SEIU: SEIU 284, SEIU HCMNIA, SEIU Local 26

TakeAction Minnesota

Twin Cities DSA

UFCW 663

UFCW Local 1189

UMN Twin Cities AAUP

Unidos MN

UNITE HERE 17

West ALC Minnesota AFL CIO

Women's March MN Action Fund

Read more: Dine' and Yaqui Arrested by ICE in Arizona

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/01/ice-terrorizing-navajo-yaqui-and.html

Copyright Censored News 2026. Content may not be used without written permission or in any way for revenues.

Borders Kill at Lochiel. The Death of a Nation.

Borders Kill at Lochiel -- The Death of a Nation.

Day 14 at the Tree Sit on the Arizona Border.

Nelson Mandela: "A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones." Mandela's autobiography Long Walk to Freedom (1994.)

Video at https://www.instagram.com/p/Db7HW88sv7c/
Collage by Censored News.

Media is Confusing the Public with Misleading Photos of Tohono O'odham

Media is Confusing the Public with Misleading Photos of Tohono O'odham

The media is using an out-dated photo that is not related to the current 'No Trespass' notice to border wall contractors, and it is misleading.

By Ofelia Rivas and Brenda Norrell, Censored News, 12, August 2026

Many news reporters are using out-dated photos of the Tohono O'odham Nation that are not related to the current 'No Trespassing' warnings to border wall contractors. The use of out-dated photos of the border protest nine years ago is misleading. In fact, tribal police threatened supporters with arrest if they traveled to the border protest through tribal lands in the United States.

Ophelia Rivas, Tohono O'odham, said today that the photos of the border protest by O'odham in Mexico were taken nine years ago. The media's use now is misleading and shows disrespect for O'odham Elders.