'Grandmother' Tree Uprooted for Border Wall Construction
Peter O'Dowd
October 06, 2026
Federal agents in Southern Arizona arrested protesters on Tuesday who were trying to protect a towering grove of cottonwood trees along the U.S.-Mexico border. The last tree came down Monday to make way for a 30-foot wall.
Activist Kate Scott described the scene:
"It was an explosive, horrific scene of cruelty."
Scott and others have been camping on private property near the base of the trees since June to protect four large cottonwoods that stood in the path of the new border wall. They called them "grandmother" trees. Three others were torn out in July.
These trees, aged over 150 years, were a significant part of the local ecosystem.
"They were over 150 years old, and they are a universe unto themselves, each one," Scott said.
Congress approved $47 billion to build hundreds of miles of new wall in President Trump’s second term. In some areas, a second 30-foot steel barrier is being constructed alongside an existing wall.
While U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) acknowledges the need to protect the environment, they claim a preconstruction survey found no signs of migratory bird nests in the trees.
Local communities have criticized the federal government for rushing the construction process, damaging the environment in the process. This summer, New Mexico officials accused federal contractors of illegally depleting an aquifer by drilling unpermitted wells for border construction.
On Monday, federal agents detained at least 10 people at the protest camp, with several injuries reported. Two more protesters were detained when construction resumed the following morning.
The CBP spokesperson did not comment on the arrests but emphasized that illegal immigration creates its own environmental hazards, including pollution and damage to natural resources.