Tucson, Ariz. -- Hundreds gathered in downtown Tucson to protest the construction of the border wall.
Protesters were very vocal about the issues the border wall brings; like the separation of families, the destruction of plant and wildlife, and the division, they say, the wall brings to two countries.
Hon’mana Seukteoma, an activist and Youtuber from the Tohono O’odham nation was one of the speakers.
“No president can ever tell us who is illegal in our ancestral homelands,” she said to the crowd.
Also present at the Protest, Congressman Raúl Grijalva.
“What this wall is causing, is the divisiveness that we see in this country. What this wall is causing is environmental harm that we will not recover from, and what this wall is causing is the further militarization and the loss of quality of life on the borderlands,” said Congressman Grijalva.
Mayor Regina Romero also weighed in.
“I’m here to say no to Trump’s border wall. That it is wrong. That it is a waste of money. We should be investing in public education funding, we should be investing in infrastructure. We should be investing in mobility and transit and so many things that we could be investing these billions of dollars in,” Mayor Romero told KGUN9.
Mayor Romero also added the wall would destroy nearby plant and wildlife.
Border Patrol agent Joe Curran told KGUN9 plant and wildlife, neighboring the wall, would be a priority.
“Every salvageable cactus we’re going to make every effort to relocate and relocate properly. But there will be some that are deemed unsalvageable and need to be removed from the construction area,” he said.
Border wall projects are currently underway within the Tucson sector, which encompasses Ajo, Douglas and Naco areas.
Agent Curran added agents patrol 80% of the border between Arizona and New Mexico, and that both natural and man-made barriers help secure the border.
According to Curran more infrastructure, technology and manpower border patrol agents have, the more it helps agents in the front line.
