Five key points about plans to expand Border Patrol’s I-19 checkpoint, south of Tucson

Here’s what you need to know:

• Santa Cruz County officials and local residents told the Star they oppose the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s planned expansion onto 17 acres east of the highway. Many say the existing checkpoint is unnecessary and already deters tourists from visiting the historic communities of Tubac and Tumacacori, south of the current checkpoint. Residents also worry the expansion plans threaten Tubac’s international “dark skies” designation, and could harm property values and the environment. It also forces fresh produce exporters from Mexico to undergo a second screening, 25 miles north of the one they underwent at the U.S.-Mexico border.

• A listing on a Department of Homeland Security portal that records major contracting projects shows CBP plans to spend between $50 million and $100 million on expanding the I-19 checkpoint. A letter CBP sent to Santa Cruz County manager Jesus Valdez asked for local officials’ input on the project by Aug. 29.

• The proposed expansion is one of several similar projects DHS has listed on its “Acquisition Planning Forecast System” portal, including two Border Patrol checkpoint expansions planned in Texas and one in New Mexico. In March, CBP also reached out to the nonprofit Arizona Land and Water Trust to inquire about buying 14 acres of the trust’s land near an often-unmanned Border Patrol checkpoint, west of I-19, on West Arivaca Road. The nonprofit trust, which purchased the Sopori Farm property in question for conservation purposes, has declined to sell to CBP, the trust’s executive director told the Star.

• Santa Cruz County officials say CBP appears prepared to move forward with the I-19 checkpoint expansion, with or without local support. CBP has not only approached the county about buying its land near the checkpoint; it’s also approached private landowner Laurinda Oswald about buying some of her family’s land east of the current checkpoint. Oswald said she refused CBP’s request to purchase nearly 18 acres of her land, and she’s prepared to fight any government effort to take her land through eminent domain. She thinks the $51.6 billion allocated to CBP in 2025 for border wall and checkpoint projects is the main driver behind the "unnecessary" expansion project, as well as CBP’s plans for two walls along the souther border. “They obviously just have way too much money to spend,” said rancher Oswald.

• As of Aug. 25, CBP has still not responded to the Star’s requests for comment on the checkpoint expansion projects and the local opposition in southern Arizona. Santa Cruz County official say they oppose the expansion but want to be involved in shaping the project, if it moves forward without local consent.