Thousands of saguaros and other desert plants could be removed from Tohono O’odham land in southern Arizona beginning Monday, Oct. 12, as contractors prepare to build additional sections of the U.S.-Mexico border barrier, Nation officials said Friday. The Nation said U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials informed it that the work was scheduled to start next week. The Tohono O’odham Nation filed an emergency injunction earlier this week seeking to stop the federal government from removing protected plants, according to the Nation. Chairman Verlon Jose said the saguaros are sacred and that, in Tohono O’odham custom, the cacti are considered people. He compared removing them from Nation land without permission to taking children from a home. “This is a violation of our sovereignty, of our religious liberty, and of our land,” Jose said in a statement. He said the Nation would continue its effort to stop the work and thanked community members for their support. The planned removal places a proposed border security project in direct conflict with the Nation’s efforts to protect its land and culturally significant desert vegetation. The Nation’s injunction seeks to prevent the removal from proceeding; the available details did not specify when a court might act.