Trump Border Wall Faces Hurdles in Southwest States

SANTA FE, N.M.—There are scant signs of civilization along the 22 miles of rugged New Mexico state land that skirt its southern border. But for opponents of President Donald Trump’s plans to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, this remote stretch of desert represents one of several flashpoints across the Southwest in their efforts to try to stop him.

Democratic state lawmakers in New Mexico have proposed legislation that would bar the federal government from acquiring the land to build a border wall. The legislation, which cleared a second committee on Tuesday, is one of several legal efforts being weighed by opponents of the wall in border states.

In New Mexico, whose border with Mexico stretches over 150 miles, the proposal was prompted by Democratic fears that the wall will hurt its expanding trade relationship with Mexico. According to U.S. Census data, New Mexico exported roughly $1.5 billion of goods to Mexico last year, more than three times the value of its Mexican exports in 2010.

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The bulk of the nearly 2,000-mile U.S. border with Mexico lies along Texas, where the administration is likely to encounter the most difficult obstacles to building a barrier—from the Rio Grande to objections from some within Mr. Trump’s own party. But potential hurdles are arising in other border states, too.

In California, Gavin Newsom, the state’s Democratic lieutenant governor, has raised the prospect of legal and logistical challenges to the wall, possibly using state and federal environmental laws to stymie construction. Roughly 100 miles of California’s border are already lined with some type of fencing. But 40 miles have no barrier. A spokesman for Mr. Newsom said he has instructed the State Lands Commission to look into how California-owned land would be affected by the wall.

In Arizona, the Tohono O’odham Nation, an Indian tribe that has 75 miles of its reservation along the border, has come out against the wall. The tribe said it would adversely affect its traditional land, some of which extends into Mexico, and would be logistically difficult to build in certain areas because of the terrain. The tribe noted it has worked closely with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other federal agencies to help secure the border through vehicle barriers and other measures.

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Sean Hecht, an environmental law professor at UCLA’s law school, said it is yet unclear whether states or Indian tribes can do much to stop the wall. A series of congressional actions, including the Secure Fence Act of 2006, gave the federal government broad powers to construct at least 700 miles of border fence wherever it saw fit. About 654 miles of fencing have been built so far. Congress also allowed the Homeland Security Department to waive local, state and federal regulations that would have subjected it to potentially lengthy environmental reviews as it built the border fencing.

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