U.S. Border Wall Crews Blast Sacred Sites as Trump Pushes 1,400 Miles of Barriers
Updated
Updated · PBS NewsHour · May 17
U.S. Border Wall Crews Blast Sacred Sites as Trump Pushes 1,400 Miles of Barriers
10 articles · Updated · PBS NewsHour · May 17
Federal contractors have blasted and bulldozed Kuuchamaa Mountain in California and carved through Arizona’s 1,000-year-old Las Playas Intaglio while building new U.S.-Mexico border wall segments.
The work accelerated this year after the Department of Homeland Security waived cultural and environmental laws, even as illegal crossings along the 1,954-mile border have fallen to historic lows.
Kumeyaay and Tohono O'odham leaders say the damage was avoidable and are weighing legal action; CBP called the geoglyph disturbance inadvertent and said it is consulting tribes on next steps.
Trump’s administration says the barriers are needed to stop illegal migration and drug smuggling, with more than $46 billion allocated and contracts or construction already covering over 600 miles.
The dispute now stretches beyond Indigenous sites to other religious and ecological flashpoints, including New Mexico’s Mount Cristo Rey and Arizona wildlife corridors used by endangered jaguars and ocelots.
Sacred site desecration is a felony. Why can federal contractors legally dynamite them for the border wall?
If technology reduces illegal crossings, why is a destructive physical wall being prioritized over less invasive methods?
How can cultural heritage be protected when national security laws are used to override all other protections?
Irreversible Loss: The Cultural and Environmental Toll of Accelerated U.S.-Mexico Border Wall Construction (2024–2026)
Overview
As of May 2026, the administration is fast-tracking border wall construction along the U.S.-Mexico border by using the 2005 REAL ID Act to bypass important environmental and cultural protections. This rapid expansion has led to significant destruction, with border barriers cutting through areas of great historical and ecological value. In Southern Arizona, these activities have desecrated a well-known intaglio on Tohono O'odham ancestral lands, and new images show ancient sites scarred by ongoing work. Native American residents are deeply concerned as more construction threatens other significant cultural and natural sites.