WASHINGTON – Tohono O’odham Chairman Verlon Jose told a House panel Wednesday that while migrants crossing his reservation are causing problems, those are overshadowed by problems from the construction of the border wall meant to stop migration.

“Construction of a wall on federal lands near our reservation also interferes with the flow of scarce, vital water resources on which plants and wildlife depend. Our tribal members rely on these plants for food, medicine and cultural purposes,” Jose said in his testimony.

His comments came during a House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing on the federal government’s recent decision to use Floyd Bennett Field, a National Park Service site in Brooklyn, as an emergency housing site for some of the thousands of migrants who have recently been shipped to New York from the border.

Video by Alexandria Cullen
Cronkite News October 19, 2023