Feds cite safety for Quitobaquito closing; critics see other motives
Wednesday, October 7, 2020
Cronkite News
WASHINGTON – The National Park Service cited public safety concerns for its decision last week to prohibit access to a sacred Tohono O’odham site, a move that comes amid rising tensions between border wall protestors and federal agents.
Park service officials said the decision to shut down roads to the
Quitobaquito Springs, posted last Monday on a website for nearby Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, was made at the request of Customs and Border Protection, and referred questions to the border agency.
In an emailed statement last Tuesday, CBP said it is working closely with the Interior Department’s land management agencies to “mitigate recent risks to public safety concerns associated with ongoing border wall construction.”
It also said it is working with “stakeholders to designate specific areas for the public to exercise First Amendment rights without compromising public safety.”

Note: This story originally appeared on Cronkite News. It is published via a Creative Commons license. Cronkite News is produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
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