Last "grandmother" cottonwood felled for border wall in Lochiel, Arizona; protesters arrested

Mixed · 2Border Patrol agents raided a protest camp in Lochiel, in southeast Arizona, on Monday 5 October, and contractors then cut down the last standing cottonwood tree for a double border wall. 1 2 Mixed · 2Protesters called it the "grandmother tree". It was hundreds of years old and stood in the San Rafael Valley, about 25 miles east of Nogales, on the edge of private property along Border Road, a dirt road running along the U.S.-Mexico border. 1 2 Mixed · 2Activists said at least 12 people had been arrested as of 8 a.m. during the raid, and that agents ignored demands for a warrant, entered private property and destroyed tents, according to activist groups' news releases cited by Inside Climate News. Newsweek, citing the Washington Post, reported only that activist groups said multiple people were arrested. 1 2

Left · 1Videos posted on Instagram show Border Patrol agents with their faces covered beginning arrests around 6:30 a.m. In the footage, people can be heard warning agents they were pushing protesters into barbed wire. Another video shows the tree falling as onlookers scream and cry. 1 Mixed · 2U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told Arizona Luminaria that it has now removed all four cottonwood trees on federal land in Lochiel that were marked for removal. It said it recognizes the importance of protecting the environment, wildlife and cultural resources, but that illegal immigration itself poses significant environmental challenges, including trash, pollution and habitat damage. 1 2 Left · 1CBP did not answer questions about how many protesters were arrested or what charges they face. 1

Left · 1Three other cottonwoods had been cut down in June. Activists then set up a tree-sit, with at least one person in the tree at all times, and camped on private property just north of it for 71 days. Kate Scott, co-founder of the Madrean Archipelago Wildlife Center, said she first noticed contractors cutting the trees this summer and organised support. With Indigenous activists, the group held a sunrise prayer each morning, and the raid happened during that ceremony, Scott said. 1 Left · 1Earlier, on 14 September, three protesters in bird and jaguar costumes, representing endangered local species, were arrested after entering the construction site. Scott said this drew more people from across the country to the camp. Activists in Mexico also held a solidarity tree-sit for about a week. 1 Mixed · 2Newsweek described the protest as against President Donald Trump's border wall and noted that footage shows the tree stood just metres from the incomplete wall. Inside Climate News reported that two rows of 30-foot border panels end about a quarter mile east of where the tree stood. Newsweek labelled its report a developing story. 2 1